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

In 1838, the US military forcibly removed the Potawatomi from their ancestral home in Illinois to a reservation in eastern Kansas. Kimmerer’s great-grandmother was among the individuals displaced on the so-called Trail of Death. In Kansas, the Potawatomi discovered a fruitful nut tree unknown to them: they called it pigan, meaning nut. The word eventually became morphed into “pecan” as the government forced Indigenous people to assimilate into American culture and speak English.

Kimmerer points to collecting ripe pecans as an example of Honorable Harvest: gratefully taking only what is given by the tree and reciprocating the gift by leaving enough for others. Potawatomi elders taught that trees speak to each other. Modern science shows that trees can communicate in times of crisis (such as insect infestation) using pheromones carried in the wind. They also use underground fungal connections to share resources such as carbohydrates. As a result, individual trees within a grove fruit at the same time regardless of their specific circumstances. This mutual flourishing creates an abundance of fruit, ensuring that some are left behind to germinate and grow into new trees. Kimmerer encourages readers to consider the effect of this kind of codependence on human communities.