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Witness to the Rain In this chapter, Kimmerer considers the nature of raindrops and the flaws surrounding our human conception of time. Each print is individually named with a quality that embodies the ways they care for us all. Then I would find myself thinking about something the author said, decide to give the book another try, read a couple of essays, etc. 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. Finally, the gods make people out of ground corn meal. OK, this book was a journey and not a precisely pleasant one. What is the significance of Braiding Sweetgrass? She is represented by. How has this book changed your view of the natural world and relationships? Learn how your comment data is processed. Her book draws not only on the inherited wisdom of Native Americans, but also on the knowledge Western science has accumulated about plants. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. (including. -Graham S. Immigrant culture should appreciate this wisdom, but not appropriate it, Kimmerer says. The ultimate significance of Braiding Sweetgrass is one of introspection; how do we reciprocate the significant gifts from the Earth in a cyclical fashion that promotes sustainability, community, and a sense of belonging? Quote by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A deep invisible river, known to roots and rocks, the water and the land intimate beyond our knowing. Drew Lanhamrender possibilities for becoming better kin and invite us into the ways . She is the co-founder and past president of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge section of the Ecological Society of America. Every drip it seems is changed by its relationship with life, whether it encounters moss or maple or fir bark or my hair. 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. "T his is a time to take a lesson from mosses," says Robin Wall Kimmerer, celebrated writer and botanist. Kimmerer says, "Let us put our . She is Potawatomi and combines her heritage with her scientific and environmental passions. eNotes.com The chapters reinforce the importance of reciprocity and gratitude in defeating the greed that drives human expansion at the expense of the earths health and plenitude. If time is measured by the period between events, alder drip time is different from maple drip. The reflecting surface of the pool is textured with their signatures, each one different in pace and resonance. Your email address will not be published. Its not about wisdom. Which of the chapters immediately drew you in and why? This idea has been mentioned several times before, but here Kimmerer directly challenges her fellow scientists to consider it as something other than a story: to actually allow it to inform their worldviews and work, and to rethink how limited human-only science really is. Praise and Prizes I'm so glad I finally read this book for the Book Cougars/Reading Envy joint readalong. As a social scientist myself, I found her nuanced ideas about the relationship between western science and indigenous worldviews compelling. In: Fleischner, Thomas L., ed. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Witness to the Rain. Otherwise, consider asking these ten questions in conjunction with the chapter-specific questions for a deeper discussion. In thinking through the ways the women in our lives stand guard, protect, and nurture our well-being, the idea for this set of four was born. Was the use of animals as people in various stories an effective use of metaphor? This is the water that moves under the stream, in cobble beds and old sandbars. So I stretch out, close my eyes, and listen to the rain. The way of natural history. Instead, settler society should write its own story of relationship to the world, creating its own. We are showered every day with the gifts of the Earth, gifts we have neither earned nor paid for: air to breathe, nurturing rain, black soil, berries and honeybees, the tree that became this page, a bag of rice and the exuberance of a field of goldenrod and asters at full bloom. What can benefit from the merging of worlds, like the intersection of Western science and Indigenous teachings? Traditional knowledge represents the outcome of long experimentation . Five stars for introducing me to Sweetgrass, its many Native American traditions, and her message of caring for and showing gratitude for the Earth. . 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. A wonderfully written nonfiction exploring indigenous culture and diaspora, appreciating nature, and what we can do to help protect and honor the land we live upon. How do we compensate the plants for what weve received? What are your thoughts concerning indigenous agriculture in contrast to Western agriculture? She served as Gallery Director and Curator for the All My Relations Gallery in Minneapolis from 2011-2015. This Study Guide consists of approximately 46pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - please join the Buffs OneRead community course: In Witness to the Rain, Kimmerer gives uninterrupted attention to the natural world around her. This quote from the chapter Witness to the Rain, comes from a meditation during a walk in the rain through the forest. Sign In, Acknowledgements text to use in a publication. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Kimmerer explores the inextricable link between old-growth forests and the old-growth cultures that grew alongside them and highlights how one cannot be restored without the other. Kimmerer is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. As an American, I don't think my countrypeople appreciate or understand enough about native culture, as a general rule and so I was very grateful for this sort of overview of modern day native life, as well as beautiful stories about the past. How can we create our own stories (or lenses) to view sacred relationships? So I stretch out, close my eyes, and listen to the rain. In: Fleischner, Thomas L., ed. Required fields are marked *. 4 Mar. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. This book contains one exceptional essay that I would highly recommend to everyone, "The Sacred and the Superfund." I read this book in a book club, and one of the others brought some braided Sweetgrass to our meeting. Kimmerer believes that the connections in the natural world are there for us to listen to if were ready to hear them. Does the act of assigning scientific labels halt exploration? Exactly how they do this, we don't yet know. Read it. Kimmerer describes the entire lifecycle of this intriguing creature to emphasize how tragic it is when their lives are ended so abruptly and randomly by passing cars. On the other hand, Skywoman falls to Earth by accident, and lives in harmony with the animals she meets there. The Earth is providing many valuable gifts for us, including fresh air, water, lands and many more natural resources to keep us alive. They provide us with another model of how . I think it has affected me more than anything else I've ever read. Science is a painfully tight pair of shoes. It's difficult to rate this book, because it so frequently veered from two to five stars for me. The reflecting surface of the pool is textured with their signatures, each one different in pace and resonance. What have you overlooked or taken for granted? Every drip it seems is changed by its relationship with life, whether it encounters moss or maple or fir bark or my hair. 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. In areas where it was ignored, it came back reduced in quantity, thus bearing out the Native American saying: Take care of the land and the land will take care of you.. . I also loved learning about the plants she mentions, and feel quite relieved to know that the proper pronunciation of pecan is peh-cahn, and not at all related to a way one might relieve themselves in the woods. Rare, unless you measure time like a river. Kimmerer reaches a place where shes in tune with nature. Do you consider them inanimate objects? "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. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. It offered them a rich earthly existence and their culture mirrored this generosity by giving their goods away in the potlatch ceremony, imitating nature in their way of life. 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. These questions may be posed to an entire class, to small groups, to online communities, or as personal reflective prompts. 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. To Be In ReceptiveSilence (InnerCharkha), RestorativeJustice & NonviolentCommunication, Superando la Monocultura Interna y Externa / Overcoming Inner & OuterMonoculture, En la Oscuridad con Asombro/ In Darkness with Wonder. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass. When people are in the presence of nature, often no other lesson is needed to move them to awe. Did this chapter change your view on the inner workings of forests? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); To live in radical joyous shared servanthood to unify the Earth Family. The address, she writes, is "a river of words as old as the people themselves, known more . What creates a strong relationship between people and Earth? Witness to the rain. Privacy | Do not sell my personal information | Cookie preferences | Report noncompliance | Terms of use| 2022 Autodesk Inc. All rights reserved, Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants. Robin Wall Kimmerer posed the question to her forest biology students at the State University of New York, in their final class in March 2020, before the pandemic sent everyone home. Its messagekeepsreaching new people, having been translated so far into nearly 20 languages. Specifically, this chapter highlights how it is more important to focus on growing a brighter future for the following generations rather than seeking revenge for the wrongs suffered by previous generations. As stated before, an important aspect of culture is its creation myths. tis is how they learned to survive, when they had little. He did so in a forty-acre plot of land where the old-growth forests had been destroyed by logging operations since the 1880s. I must admit I had my reservations about this book before reading it. In this chapter, Kimmerer considers the nature of raindrops and the flaws surrounding our human conception of time. 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. Next they make humans out of wood. What fire within you has proven to be both good and bad? Shes completely comfortable moving between the two and their co-existence within her mind gives her a unique understanding of her experience. She then relates the Mayan creation story. The series Takes Care of Us honors native women and the care, protection, leadership and love the provide for their communities. 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. 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! Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Braiding Sweetgrass. Even a wounded world is feeding us. This chapter centers around an old Indigenous tradition wherein the people greeted the Salmon returning to their streams by burning large swathes of prairie land at Cascade Head. Maybe there is no such thing as rain; there are only raindrops, each with its own story.. 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. Each raindrop will fall individually, its size and. What do you consider the power of ceremony? Director Peter Weir Writers William Kelley (story by) Pamela Wallace (story by) Earl W. Wallace (story by) Stars Harrison Ford in the sand, but because joy. The other chapter that captured me is titled Witness to the Rain. Rather than being historical, it is descriptive and meditative. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Many of the pants have since become invasive species, choking or otherwise endangering native species to sustain their own pace of exponential growth. It has created powerful tools for ravaging the planets ecosystems, creating a hard path for our descendants. A graceful, illuminating study of the wisdom of the natural world, from a world-renowned indigenous scientist. Afterward they want to create a creature who can speak, and so they try to make humans. 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! Why or why not? How much do we love the environment that gives of itself despite our misuse of its resources? Its not as big as a maple drop, not big enough to splash, but its popp ripples the surface and sends out concentric rings. Maybe there is no such thing as rain; there are only raindrops, each with its own story. The story focuses on the central role of the cattail plant, which can fulfill a variety of human needs, as the students discover. Her book draws not only on the inherited wisdom of Native Americans, but also on the knowledge Western science has accumulated about plants. 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. Her first book, published in 2003, was the natural and cultural history book Gathering . When you have all the time in the world, you can spend it, not on going somewhere, but on being where you are. As water professionals, can we look closely enough at the raindrops to learn from them and respect the careful balance of these interactions when we design and build the infrastructure we rely on? Throughout five sections that mirror the important lifecycle of sweetgrass, Dr. Kimmerer unfolds layers of Indigenous wisdom that not only captures the attention of the reader, but also challenges the perspectives of Western thought in a beautiful and passionate way. The last date is today's It teaches the reader so many things about plants and nature in general. It perceives the family of life to be little more than a complex biochemical machine. As a botanist and indigenous person you'd think this would be right up my alley, but there was something about the description that made it sound it was going to be a lot of new-age spiritual non-sense, and it was a bit of that, but mostly I was pleasantly surprised that it was a more "serious" book than I thought it'd be.