39 pages • 1-hour read
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
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Key Figures
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Kimmerer is a distinguished author, scientist, and professor known for her expertise in botany, ecology, and Indigenous knowledge systems. She is best recognized for her works Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants and Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, both of which explore the intersection of traditional ecological knowledge and Western science. Her unique perspective is shaped by her identity as a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and her extensive academic training in plant ecology. This expertise is also present in The Serviceberry, as Kimmerer rekindles an Indigenous tradition of gift economies and urges readers to discover the many ways in which this traditional knowledge is evident in the world around them, even amid the corrosive and alienating effects of “cutthroat capitalism” (70).
Growing up in a rural environment, Kimmerer developed a deep appreciation for the natural world from an early age. Her Potawatomi heritage played a crucial role in shaping her worldview, as she was immersed in Indigenous ways of knowing that emphasized a reciprocal relationship with nature. Her cultural history and values are evident in her prose, as Kimmerer describes her appreciation of the natural world in a sincere, caring tone. She begins the book with a description not just of serviceberry harvests but of the pleasurable effect that this has on her mind and her body. Her stained fingers and her sense of satisfaction hearken back to the traditions of her ancestors, which she shares with readers to create a bridge between the past and the present. She notes that the lessons of the serviceberry are not archaic or private knowledge but an experience that can (and should) be shared by all, underscoring her thematic interest in The Natural World as Inspiration for Economic Reform.
Kimmerer frames her academic knowledge as providing a similar bridge between her cultural understanding and scientific study of the natural world, which she applies to traditional economic discourse in The Serviceberry. Her passion for the environment led her to pursue higher education in the field of botany. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, followed by a master’s degree and PhD in botany from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During her academic journey, she found that the Western scientific method often dismissed Indigenous knowledge as unscientific. This realization motivated her to bridge the gap between the two systems of thought. The blending of the academic expertise and Indigenous tradition is very much evident in The Serviceberry, encouraging discussions of contemporary economics through a lens of biomimicry.
Kimmerer’s work as an author has garnered widespread recognition. The way in which Kimmerer weaves together personal narrative, Indigenous philosophy, and scientific knowledge illustrates the deep relationships between humans and the natural world. Her ability to articulate Indigenous ecological knowledge in a way that is accessible to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers makes her a leading voice in discussions on environmental ethics, decolonization, and conservation. In this sense, Kimmerer is explicitly political. She does not strive toward any sense of scientific objectivity. Rather, her writing is an explicitly polemic call to action. She wants her readers to understand the benefits of the gift economy as an idea and, particularly, as an alternative economic model to the modern capitalism that she believes to be particularly corrosive, polluting, and alienating. Kimmerer has a vested interest in the concept of gift economies, but it is an interest that she believes is shared by everyone.
Through her work, Kimmerer challenges dominant economic and ecological models, encouraging a worldview that prioritizes generosity, reciprocity, and harmony with the earth. Her contributions have made her a key figure in the movement for ecological justice and Indigenous-led conservation efforts.
Darren
In The Serviceberry, Kimmerer uses the name “Darren” to represent an archetypal, self-interested capitalist. The name directly references the CEO of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods, who was appointed to the position in 2017. Woods has been named by the international news media as one of the many corporate figures responsible for polluting the environment. To Kimmerer, he represents the antithesis of the type of economy for which she advocates in the book. Whereas Kimmerer believes that gift economies can be constructed on mutually beneficial acts of kindness, the business practices of big fossil fuel corporations represent individual ambition for personal profit over mutual benefit. Kimmerer refrains from using Woods’s full name but deploys his first name as a pejorative. Kimmerer does not hesitate to refer to executives such as Woods as the key obstacles to building a better world.
Throughout the text, Kimmerer invokes the name of Darren as a stand-in for base human selfishness that threatens her utopian vision of society. Were it not for individuals such as Darren, Kimmerer implies, building better communities based around gift economies would be much easier. Kimmerer stresses that this behavior is not limited to the CEOs of the world, however, by also using the name to refer to the anonymous man who stole everything from her daughter’s food produce stand. While much smaller in scale of operation when compared to a globalized corporation such as ExxonMobil, the destruction of this food produce stand was just as much of an affront to Kimmerer’s understanding of innate human goodness and kindness as the rampant pollution overseen by Woods.
Darren is not just one individual. He is not a CEO or a petty crook. Rather, in the context of Kimmerer’s text, Darren is an antagonistic idea. The name Darren represents a kind of selfishness that Kimmerer loathes. Because Darren stands for everything Kimmerer stands against, he creates a personified focal point for her criticisms. He is no longer a monolithic and faceless idea of modern capitalism; she has given this malevolent force a name. In The Serviceberry, the name Darren refers to anyone or anything that selfishly stands in the way of a better world.
Paulie and Ed
Paulie and Ed run a small farm and occasionally open their fields to the public, inviting their neighbors to pick berries for free. Kimmerer refers to Paulie’s efforts as an example of the ways that gift economies function in many places in modern society, underscoring her thematic engagement with The Natural World as Inspiration for Economic Reform. The invitation to pick berries, Kimmerer notes, is Paulie’s attempt to build a network of relationships in the community. The gift of the berries may not be returned explicitly in kind, but it will be remembered. Kimmerer frames Paulie’s way of thinking as an innovative contrast to the commodification process of a capitalist economy, in which everything must be bought and sold and any given business relationship ends with the exchange of money. For Kimmerer, Paulie represents a way to rethink one’s economic relationship to those around them.
Kimmerer also emphasizes Paulie as an example of the ways that gift economies run in parallel to capitalist economies. Paulie and her farm exist within a broader capitalist economy. While they may be able to invite people to pick berries at no cost, Paulie has other crops that must be sold in order to pay bills. Paulie notes how their small gift economy impacts the way they function in the broader system of capitalism—allowing the neighbors to pick berries endears her and her farm to her community, leading to customer loyalty, future sales, and support. The invitation to pick berries is, to Paulie, a marketing move as much as an example of a gift economy, demonstrating how even someone who explicitly partakes in the capitalist economy can be influenced by the ideas of the gift economy in a positive manner.
Larkin (Kimmerer’s Daughter)
Larkin, Kimmerer’s daughter, who is only identified by name in the book’s acknowledgements section, plays a small but significant role in Kimmerer’s discussion of gift economies. Kimmerer describes how Larkin set up a small produce stall that gave away fruit and vegetables to people from the community—an example of Kimmerer’s beliefs put into action. Through Larkin, Kimmerer provides an additional example of the ways in which small, informal gift economies can be constructed in parallel to the modern capitalist economy. Larkin, in effect, provides a template for the readers to understand how the ideas proposed in The Serviceberry can be implemented in a practical context.
Larkin’s project also emphasizes The Tension Between Cutthroat Capitalism and Communal Reciprocity; Kimmerer describes how a man, whom she refers to as Darren, vandalized the stand and stole all the produce. Kimmerer highlights Larkin’s instinct to treat the setback as an opportunity for humor rather than becoming discouraged. The stand was resurrected, and the gift economy endured, positioning Larkin’s actions as an ideological counterpart to Darren. Larkin’s selflessness is juxtaposed against Darren’s selfishness, showing how the benevolence and altruism of the gift economy can endure against cynical self-interest. In this sense, Larkin’s setback also became a teaching opportunity for Kimmerer. Larkin showed that the process of establishing gift economies in a modern capitalist environment is not easy but also that it is worthwhile.
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