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

Kimmerer is snowshoeing alone when heavy snow forces her to turn back. As she retraces her steps, she notices a second set of prints in her tracks. She looks nervously for the Windigo, a legendary Anishinaabe monster with a heart made of ice. The Windigo are humans whose cannibalism transformed them into monsters; stories say that their bite will turn others into monsters too.

In a time when winter storms buried food sources, Windigo stories were a reminder of the cultural taboos against cannibalism. Kimmerer argues that they also reflect the values of Anishinaabe society. For a people who prioritized cooperation and mutual care, the Windigo was a monstrous example of selfishness and greed. Windigo stories taught people to avoid greed even in times of great hunger.

Modern Indigenous thinkers point to addiction, overconsumption, and corporate greed as evidence that the Windigo is active in American culture. Kimmerer suggests that the Windigo myth may have originated as a way of remembering those who were banished from the group for their greed. She argues that American culture on the other hand celebrates consumption and greed, calling these patterns Windigo thinking. She challenges readers to reduce the impact of Windigo thinking in their communities.