Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

• Genre: Nonfiction; botany and environmentalism
• Originally Published: 2013
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: 5 parts; 32 chapters; approx. 408 pages; approx. 16 hours, 44 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: The author, a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, discusses environmental sustainability and connection between living things in essays devoted to nature and different cultures’ views of the world.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: The author mentions by name and discusses at length a figure that Native students with traditional spiritual beliefs may be uncomfortable reading about and discussing (the W*ndigo).

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Author

• Bio: Born in 1953 in New York; scientist, professor, and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation; founder/director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment; teaches at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; winner of the John Burroughs Medal Award (Natural History Writing; 2005) for her book Gathering Moss; recipient of a MacArthur Fellows Program “Genius Grant” (2022)
• Other Works: Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses (2003); Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults (2022)
• Awards: Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award (2014); John Burroughs Nature Essay Award (2014); New York Times Bestseller list; LitHub’s Best Essay Collection of the Decade; Thoreau Prize for Excellence in Nature Writing (2021)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Need for Reciprocity Between Humanity and Nature
• The Intersection of Science and Spirituality
• Overconsumption as a Consequence of Modern Capitalism

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Explore similarities and differences between Western and Indigenous science as well as the potential applications of Indigenous science to environmental issues in order to increase their comprehension of and engagement with Braiding Sweetgrass.
• Read/study paired texts and other brief resources to deepen their understanding of themes related to The Need for Reciprocity Between Humanity and Nature, The Intersection of Science and Spirituality, and Overconsumption as a Consequence of Modern Capitalism.
• Demonstrate their understanding of Kimmerer’s ideas about gratitude by creating a presentation applying Kimmerer’s ideas to a specific natural resource.
• Analyze the significance of textual elements such as audience, motif, characterization, imagery, detail, narrative perspective, and argumentative strategies.