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

Sweetgrass lends its name to the title of the book and symbolizes many of the central themes of the text. As one of the most useful and common indigenous plants, one which could be found all across North America, its gradual demise mirrors that of the Indigenous people. The techniques used to cultivate and weave sweetgrass have been gradually lost as the Indigenous population has been decimated. The wealth of cultural and ecological knowledge that this represents is also in danger of being lost. Accordingly, the plight of the sweetgrass becomes a symbol for the plight of the people.

One dimension of this symbol is the use of sweetgrass to make baskets. Traditionally, sweetgrass baskets would be functional objects—useful tools which would be made in accordance with the needs of the local population. Now, as part of a materialist society, the meaning of these baskets has had to change. Baskets are made and sold as a means of keeping the people alive. The traditional cultures are taught during basket classes, helping to maintain the existence of the culture, while the money brought in by the sale of the sweetgrass baskets is put toward preserving as much of the Indigenous history, lands, and knowledge as possible. The baskets have ceased to be a cultural object in the traditional sense; now, they have had to accommodate the change in society; they have had to become a materialist possession to be bought and sold.

At the same time, however, the baskets—and the other items made with sweetgrass—have become a preservation tool. By teaching people about the importance of sweetgrass, the Indigenous elders can highlight the plight of the indigenous plant and, by association, their own plight. This works for the author, who attends basket weaving classes and then interests her own students in the plight of the sweetgrass. Backed by science and experiments, the author repositions sweetgrass once again, showing the scientific community and the reader that it is an important ecological mainstay. Likewise, it is a plant that represents the importance of humans in the ecosystem: It must be cultivated properly to propagate. As such, the sweetgrass becomes a metaphor for how humans and the environment can coexist and depend on one another in reciprocity.