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

Everywhere Kimmerer looks, she sees reciprocity—whether she is reading Indigenous folk tales, analyzing empirical data as a scientist, or forecasting new economic models that may save humanity from climate ruin. The concept of reciprocity is placed center stage for the reader as soon as they pick up the book; the act of “braiding sweetgrass” is itself an expression of reciprocity, as one individual braids while the other holds the sweetgrass in place. The author writes, “Linked by sweetgrass, there is reciprocity between you, linked by sweetgrass, the holder as vital as the braider” (ix).

The theme of reciprocity also serves as a bridge between the author’s two lifelong fascinations: Indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge. In “The Council of Pecans,” the nut grows in abundance seemingly at the precise moment when Kimmerer’s ancestors need sustenance most: upon being forcibly removed from their Great Lakes home by the US government in what came to be known as the “trail of death.” To the author, the spiritual importance of the pecan to her Indigenous ancestors is in no way eroded by the scientific explanation behind the nut’s tendency to thrive at irregular intervals.