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

                                                                                 

© 2013, Text by Robin Wall Kimmerer All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415. 

(800) 520-6455 

www.milkweed.org 

Published 2013 by Milkweed Editions Printed in Canada 

Cover design by Gretchen Achilles / Wavetrap Design 

Cover photo 

© Teresa Carey 

Author photo by Dale Kakkak 

13 14 15 16 17 5 4 3 2 1 

First Edition 

Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Bush Foundation; the Patrick and Aimee Butler Foundation; the Dougherty Family Foundation; the Driscoll Foundation; the Jerome Foundation; the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit www.milkweed.org. 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 

Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants / Robin Wall Kimmerer. — First edition. 

Summary: “As a leading researcher in the field of biology, Robin Wall Kimmerer understands the delicate state of our world. But as an active member of the Potawatomi nation, she senses and relates to the world through a way of knowing far older than any science. In Braiding Sweetgrass, she intertwines these two modes of awareness—the analytic and the emotional, the scientific and the cultural—to ultimately reveal a path toward healing the rift

that grows between people and nature. The woven essays that construct this book bring people back into conversation with all that is green and growing; a universe that never stopped speaking to us, even when we forgot how to listen”—Provided by publisher. 

ISBN 978-1-57131-335-5 (hardback : alkaline paper) 

1. Indian philosophy. 2. Indigenous peoples—Ecology. 3. Philosophy of nature. 4. Human ecology—Philosophy. 5. Nature—Effect of human beings on. 6. Human-plant relationships. 7. Botany—Philosophy. 8. Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 9. Potawatomi Indians— Biography. 10. Potawatomi Indians—Social life and customs. I. Title.

E98.P5K56 2013 

305.597—dc23 

2013012563 

Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Braiding Sweetgrass was printed on acid-free 100 % postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation.

                                         For all the Keepers of the Fire 

                                          my parents 

                                         my daughters 

                                  and my grandchildren 

                        yet to join us in this beautiful place

                                               

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

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