Book notes | Braiding Sweetgrass
Author Robin Wall Kimmerer is a trained botanist who is able to view nature with the tools of science learned in graduate school. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she also embraces the notion that nature can be viewed from an indigenous perspective that includes the mind, body, emotions, and spirit.
For Kimmerer, plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, she shows how other living things like plants offer us gifts and lessons to live by. The book is organized into sections based on the growth and death cycle of sweetgrass: planting, tending, picking, braiding, and burning.
Braiding Sweetgrass resonated with me as a retired wetlands scientist and concerned lover of aquatic life. Kimmerer affirms “heart-driven science” and translating “reverence into action.” Doing science with awe and humility is a powerful act of reciprocity; this means making deep connections with other species, not just humans. She takes us deep into the ecology and spirit of trees and their roots, of terrestrial and wetland plants.
A culture of gratitude and reciprocity
The culture of gratitude is a key theme, plus a culture of reciprocity where we leave a gift in return. To native people, the “honorable harvest” means “take only what you need and use everything you take.” The contamination of Onondaga Lake in New York and the widespread, earth-killing, toxic emissions from Sudbury's major metal mines in Ontario, Canada, are examples of the dishonorable harvest. "When does taking become outright theft?” asks Kimmerer.
Members of UMRA Book Club I universally enjoyed the book. We shared personal connections, such as working in a community garden of native plants; visiting Bdote, the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers at Fort Snelling, where Dakota lived for 10,000 years; planting sweetgrass (from Bachmann's!); and making a dreamcatcher after asking the ash tree if it is ok to remove a few branches.
Braiding Sweetgrass is deep and inspiring. It is a book to read slowly. It is a book to relish and read again.
Additional readings were recommended during the book club’s discussion on October 15: A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.
—Judy Helgen, UMRA Book Club I member
Book Club I to meet October 15
Fri, Oct 15 2021, 2pm
Judy Helgen will lead the discussion of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer when the UMRA Book Club I meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 15.
This book club currently has 16 members, a number that works well for our discussions. Contact Pat Tollefson at [email protected] for more information, including suggestions for starting a new book club.
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.