witness to the rain kimmerer

One of my goals this year was to read more non-fiction, a goal I believe I accomplished. What have you overlooked or taken for granted? What creates a strong relationship between people and Earth? Elsewhere the rain on . The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Kimmerer, Robin Wall. However, there is one plant, the broadleaf plantain, sometimes known as the White Mans Footstep, that has assimilated and become somewhat indigenous to place, working with the native plants in symbiosis in order to propagate. Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants / Robin Wall Kimmerer. All rights reserved. Your email address will not be published. Braids plated of three strands, are given away as signs of kindness and gratitude. I'm Melanie - the founder and content creator of Inspired Epicurean. This chapter focuses on a species of lichen called Umbilicaria, which is technically not one organism but two: a symbiotic marriage between algae and fungi. If so, which terms or phrases? If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. What did you think of the perspective regarding the ceremony of life events; in which those who have been provided with the reason for the celebration give gifts to those in attendance. By the 1850s, Western pioneers saw fit to drain the wetlands that supported the salmon population in order to create more pasture for their cattle. What are your thoughts regarding the concepts of: The destruction resulting from convenience, Do you agree with the idea that killing a who evokes a different response from humans than killing an it?. A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Bestseller Named a Best Essay Collection of the Decade by Literary Hub As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. Why or why not? I must admit I had my reservations about this book before reading it. Braiding Sweetgrass explores the theme of cooperation, considering ways in which different entities can thrive by working in harmony and thereby forming a sense of mutual belonging. My mother is a veteran. If so, what makes you feel a deeper connection with the land and how did you arrive at that feeling? Witness to the rain. People who lived in the old-growth forest belonged to a community of beings that included humans, plants, and animals who were interdependent and equal. She compares this healthy relationship to the scientific relationship she experienced as a young scholar, wherein she struggled to reconcile spirituality, biology, and aesthetics into one coherent way of thinking. Five stars for the author's honest telling of her growth as a learner and a professor, and the impressions she must have made on college students unaccustomed to observing or interacting with nature. I would catch myself arguing with her for idealizing her world view, for ignoring the darker realities of life, and for preaching at me, although I agree with every single thing she advocates. But I'm grateful for this book and I recommend it to every single person! The drop swells on the tip of the of a cedar and I catch in on my tongue like a blessing. Throughout the three-day field trip, Kimmerer was anxious to help the students forge a greater connection with nature and moved through a checklist of ecological sights without evoking much awe from her captive audience. Drew Lanhamrender possibilities for becoming better kin and invite us into the ways . Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Tragically, the Native people who upheld this sacred tradition were decimated by diseases such as smallpox and measles in the 1830s. What have you overlooked or taken for granted? The source of all that they needed, from cradleboards to coffins, it provided them with materials for boats and houses, for clothing and baskets, for bowls and hats, utensils and fishing rods, line and ropes. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); To live in radical joyous shared servanthood to unify the Earth Family. I think that moss knows rain better than we do, and so do maples. Maybe there is no such thing as rain; there are only raindrops, each with its own story.. She is Potawatomi and combines her heritage with her scientific and environmental passions. Copyright 20112022 Andrews Forest Program. Even a wounded world is feeding us. What do you consider the power of ceremony? Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. publication online or last modification online. Did you Google any concepts or references? Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations is a five-volume series exploring our deep interconnections with the living world and the interdependence that exists between humans and nonhuman beings. How does one go about exploring their own relationship with nature? Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer (also credited as Robin W. Kimmerer) (born 1953) is Associate Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF). What fire within you has proven to be both good and bad? She is the author of numerous scientific articles, and the book Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. These are not 'instructions' like commandments, though, or rules; rather they are like a compass: they provide an orientation but not a map. What are your thoughts regarding the democracy of species concept? The way of natural history. Please enter your email address to subscribe to this blog if you would like to receive notifications of new posts by email. How did this change or reinforce your understanding of gifts and gift-giving? Witness to the Rain. What were your thoughts surrounding the Original Instructions?. Inside looking out, I could not bear the loneliness of being dry in a wet world. Kimmerer has often pointed out the importance of direct experience with the land and other living things. Struggling with distance learning? The questionssampled here focus onreader experience and connection. It has created powerful tools for ravaging the planets ecosystems, creating a hard path for our descendants. If there is meaning in the past and in the imagined future, it is captured in the moment. Kimmerer imagines a kind of science in which people saw plants as teachers rather than as objects to be experimented on. It asks whether human beings are capable of being mothers too, and whether this feminine generosity can be reciprocated in a way which is meaningful to the planet. Why? When we take from the land, she wants us to insist on an honourable harvest, whether were taking a single vegetable for sustenance or extracting minerals from the land. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press: 187-195. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Witness to the rain. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants and Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. "As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. She invites us to seek a common language in plants and suggests that there is wisdom and poetry that all plants can teach us. Would you consider re-reading Braiding Sweetgrass? This story is usually read as a history, but Kimmerer reminds the reader that in many Indigenous cultures time is not linear but rather circular. Word Count: 1124. As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools . If so, how can we apply what we learn to create a reciprocity with the living world? Kimmerer lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. The gods send disasters to strike them, and they also give the rest of creation their own voices to speak out against their mistreatment. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Listening, standing witness, creates an openness to the world in which boundaries between us can dissolve in a raindrop." From 'Witness to Rain' [essay], BRAIDING SWEETGRASS: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2015 by Milkweed Editions. Not because I have my head. The solution? Today were celebrating Robin Wall Kimmerer, Professor of Environmental Science and Forestry at State University of New York College and citizen of the Potawatomi Nation. These qualities also benefited them, as they were the only people to survive and endure. From his land, Dolp can see the remains of an old-growth forest on top of a nearby peak, the rest of the view being square patches of Douglas fir the paper companies had planted alternating with clear cut fields. Each print is individually named with a quality that embodies the ways they care for us all. As immigrants, are we capable of loving the land as if we were indigenous to it? But just two stars for the repetitive themes, the disorganization of the book as a whole, the need for editing and shortening in many places. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass. Teachers and parents! This quote from the chapter Witness to the Rain, comes from a meditation during a walk in the rain through the forest. What did you think of the Pledge of Interdependence? "As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent . The leaching of ecological resources is not just an action to be compartmentalized, or written off as a study for a different time, group of scientists, or the like. Just read it. date the date you are citing the material. "An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science and a Native American whose previous book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. What ceremonies are important to you, and serve as an opportunity to channel attention into intention? In this chapter, Kimmerer describes another field trip to the Cranberry Lake Biological Station, where she teaches an ethnobotany class that entails five weeks of living off the land. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. They feel like kindred spirits. Her book draws not only on the inherited wisdom of Native Americans, but also on the knowledge Western science has accumulated about plants. This book contains one exceptional essay that I would highly recommend to everyone, "The Sacred and the Superfund." Listening to rain, time disappears. Kimmerer who recently won a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant used as an example one successful project at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she directs the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. That's why Robin Wall Kimmerer, a scientist, author and Citizen Potawatomi Nation member, says it's necessary to complement Western scientific knowledge with traditional Indigenous wisdom. This forest is textured with different kinds of time, as the surface of the pool is dimpled with different kinds of rain. It establishes the fact that humans take much from the earth, which gives in a way similar to that of a mother: unconditionally, nearly endlessly. These Braiding Sweetgrass book club questions are intended to be used as discussion points post-reading, and not a guide during the reading itself. The questionssampled here focus on. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. Do offering ceremonies or rituals exist in your life? Crnica de un rescate de enjambre de abejas silvestresanunciado. What concepts were the most difficult to grasp, if any? White Hawk writes: "As a suite, these works speak to the importance of kinship roles and tribal structures that emphasize the necessity of extended family, tribal and communal ties as meaningful and significant relationships necessary for the rearing of healthy and happy individuals and communities. Oh my goodness, what an absolutely gorgeous book with possibly the best nature writing I've ever read. If you embrace the natural world as a whole from microscopic organisms to fully-fledged mammals, where do you draw the line with sacrificing life for your greater good?. Yet, this list of qualities could go on and on and each person carries multiple roles. Were you familiar with Carlisle, Pennsylvania prior to this chapter? She is wrong. Where will they go? Many of her arguments rely on this concept of honour, which is what she thinks weve abandoned in our publicpolicies. Dr. Kimmerer has taught courses in botany, ecology, ethnobotany, indigenous environmental issues as well as a seminar in application of traditional ecological knowledge to conservation. (LogOut/ He did so in a forty-acre plot of land where the old-growth forests had been destroyed by logging operations since the 1880s. Required fields are marked *. The Earth is providing many valuable gifts for us, including fresh air, water, lands and many more natural resources to keep us alive. . Did you find this chapter poetic? And, how can we embrace a hopeful, tangible approach to healing the natural world before its too late? Do you believe in land as a teacher? Why or why not? 1) Bring some homage to rainit can be a memory of your most memorable experience ever walking in the rain, listening to rainfall, staying inside by a fire while it rained, etc.or a poem or piece of prose that captures something you feel about rainor a haiku you write tomorrow morning over your coffeeor best of all, a potent rain dance! How do we compensate the plants for what weve received? Can anyone relate to the fleeting African violet? Not what I expected, but all the better for it. In this way, Kimmerer encourages the reader to let go of the ways in which humans have attempted to define the world, emphasizing instead the wisdom of nonhuman beings. I don't know how to talk about this book. I really enjoyed this. Fir needles fall with the high-frequency hiss of rain, branches fall with the bloink of big drops, and trees with a rare but thunderous thud. The belly Button of the World -- Old-Growth Children -- Witness to the Rain -- Burning Sweetgrass -- Windigo Footprints -- The Sacred and the Superfund -- People of Corn, People of . This quote from the chapter "Witness to the Rain", comes from a meditation during a walk in the rain through the forest. What did you think of Robins use of movement as metaphor and time? Kimmerer, Robin Wall Summary "An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science and a Native American whose previous book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. A deep invisible river, known to roots and rocks, the water and the land intimate beyond our knowing. I want to feel what the cedars feel and know what they know. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Written from a native American point of view, Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) is one of the most unusual books Ive read. This point of view isnt all that radical. Then she listens. Adapting Fearlessness, Nonviolence, Anarchy and Humility in the 21st century. The idea for this suite of four dresses came from the practice of requesting four veterans to stand in each cardinal direction for protection when particular ceremonies are taking place. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.Kimmerer lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples . In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit . The address, she writes, is "a river of words as old as the people themselves, known more . . She asks this question as she tells the stories of Native American displacement, which forever changed the lives of her . Maybe there is no such thing as rain; there are only raindrops, each with its own story. Even the earth, shes learned from a hydrologist, is mixed with water, in something called the hyporheic flow.. But they're gifts, too. The story focuses on the central role of the cattail plant, which can fulfill a variety of human needs, as the students discover. These people have no gratitude or love within them, however, and they disrespect the rest of creation. It is informative about Native American history, beliefs, and culture. I felt euphoric inhaling the intense fragrance, and truly understood why the author would name a book after this plant. Braiding Sweetgrass consists of the chapters In the Footsteps of Nanabozho: Becoming Indigenous to Place, The Sound of Silverbells, Sitting in a Circle, Burning Cascade Head, Putting Down Roots, Umbilicaria: The Belly Button of the World, Old-Growth Children, and Witness to the Rain. Here, Kimmerer delves into reconciling humanity with the environment, dwelling in particular upon the changes wrought between generations upon the way in which one considers the land one lives on. What are your thoughts on the assertion of mutual taming between plants and humans? What did you think of the juxtaposition between light and dark? What can you do to promote restoration over despair? Against the background hiss of rain, she distinguishes the sounds drops make when they fall on different surfaces, a large leaf, a rock, a small pool of water, or moss. She served as Gallery Director and Curator for the All My Relations Gallery in Minneapolis from 2011-2015. When people are in the presence of nature, often no other lesson is needed to move them to awe. We are grateful that the waters are still here and meeting their responsibility to the rest of Creation. Kimmerer criticizes those who gatekeep science from the majority of people through the use of technical language, itself a further form of exclusion through the scientific assumption that humans are disconnected from and above other living things. This article highlights the findings of the literature on aboriginal fire from the human- and the land-centered disciplines, and suggests that the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples be incorporated into plans for reintroducing fire to the nation's forests. When you have all the time in the world, you can spend it, not on going somewhere, but being where you are. help you understand the book. In "Witness to the Rain," Kimmerer noted that everything exists only in relationship to something else, and here she describes corn as a living relationship between light, water, the land, and people. (LogOut/ As the field trip progresses and the students come to understand more fully their relationship with the earth, Kimmerer explains how the current climate crisis, specifically the destruction of wetland habitation, becomes not just an abstract problem to be solved on an intellectual level but an extremely personal mission. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. She is the co-founder and past president of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge section of the Ecological Society of America. I'm sure there is still so much I can't see. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. over despair. The Skywoman story, shared by the original people's throughout the Greak Lakes, is a constant star in the constellation of teachings we call the Original Instructions. Everything is steeped in meaning, colored by relationships, one thing with another.[]. Her writing about the importance of maintaining indigenous language and culture also elicited feelings of tenderness and sadness from me. Our lifestyle content is crafted to bring eco-friendly and sustainable ideas more mainstream. As a social scientist myself, I found her nuanced ideas about the relationship between western science and indigenous worldviews compelling. . Alder drops make a slow music. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Do you relate more to people of corn or wood? So let's do two things, please, in prep for Wednesday night conversation: 1) Bring some homage to rainit can bea memory of your most memorable experience ever walking in the rain, listening to rainfall, staying inside by a fire while it rained, etc.or a poem or piece of prose that captures something you feel about rainor a haiku you write tomorrow morning over your coffeeor best of all, a potent rain dance! This passage also introduces the idea of ilbal, or a seeing instrument that is not a physical lens or device but a mythology. This is an important and a beautiful book. Kimmerer describes how the lichen unites the two main sources of nourishment: gathering and hunting. Braiding Sweetgrass. The book the President should read, that all of us who care about the future of the planet should read, is Robin Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass. Want more Water Words of Wisdom? Her first book, published in 2003, was the natural and cultural history book Gathering . Her book draws not only on the inherited wisdom of Native Americans, but also on the knowledge Western science has accumulated about plants. And we think of it as simply rain, as if it were one thing, as if we understood it. By paying attention we acknowledge that we have something to learn from intelligences other than our own. Visualize an element of the natural world and write a letter of appreciation and observation. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer . I think that moss knows rain better than we do, and so do maples. How can we have a relationship if we lack thorough understanding, an ability to listen, and ideas to give back to the natural world? please join the Buffs OneRead community course: In Witness to the Rain, Kimmerer gives uninterrupted attention to the natural world around her. She speaks about each drops path as completely different, interacting with a multitude of organic and inorganic matter along the way, sometimes becoming bigger or smaller, sometimes picking up detritus along the way or losing some of its fullness. tis is how they learned to survive, when they had little. "Burning Sweetgrass" is the final section of this book. Rare, unless you measure time like a river. The chapters therein are Windigo Footprints, The Sacred and the Superfund, People of Corn, People of Light, Collateral Damage, Shkitagen: People of the Seventh Fire, Defeating Windigo, and Epilogue. These chapters paint an apocalyptic picture of the environmental destruction occurring around the world today and urge the reader to consider ways in which this damage can be stemmed. The second is the date of This question was asked of a popular fiction writer who took not a moment's thought before saying, my own of course. ", University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, Buffs One Read 2022-2023: Braiding Sweetgrass, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdome Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants. Burning Sweetgrass and Epilogue Summary and Analysis, The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. In her talk, she references another scientist and naturalist weve covered before,Aldo Leopold. The Andrews Forest Programprovides science on multiple themes and provides a broader foundation for regional studies. . Can you identify any ceremonies in which you participated, that were about the land, rather than family and culture? The Earth is but ONE country and all living beings her citizens. Did you consider this a melancholy chapter? Follow us onLinkedIn,Twitter, orInstagram. Christelle Enault is an artist and illustrator based in Paris. She writes about the natural world from a place of such abundant passion that one can never quite see the world the same way after having seen it through Kimmerer's eyes. After reading the book do you feel compelled to take any action or a desire to impact any change? Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of "Braiding Sweetgrass" Sweet Briar College is thrilled to welcome Robin Wall Kimmerer on March 23, 2022, for a special in-person (and livestream) presentation on her book "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.".