Braiding Sweetgrass

There’s never been a better time to invite ancient, indigenous knowledge into the discourse with regard to climate change and land stewardship. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer builds on the knowledge passed down to her by generations of indigenous ancestors, and layers it with the scientific expertise she has gained through her work as a botanist. The result is a book so powerful that the pages seem to turn themselves.

Deep inside humanity is a longing to restore our once-sacred bond with Mother Nature, yet many of us are so far removed from her that we can’t even identify the need. Through a series of personal essays, Kimmerer helps us recognize this collective divorce from the Earth and sheds light on the path to mending it.

Trace back to the roots

One of the most powerful excerpts from the book touches on the idea of tracing back and honoring life within the materials that surround us. When we look at a piece of paper as a tree, rather than something to be used and discarded, it becomes something exponentially more important. Our relationship with it changes. Kimmerer encourages us to trace everything back to the origin and give thanks for the life given for our own. This is an interesting approach to living more mindfully—through this lens, we no longer need to feel guilty about eating the steak for dinner. Instead, we clearly acknowledge the body that was sacrificed for our own well-being, and hopefully, doing so helps us achieve the level of moderation necessary to decrease our pressure on the environment.

Honor the origins

Applying this idea of honoring the origins of materials is especially powerful in the context of fashion. The wool jumper not only keeps the body warm, it also functions as a symbol of beautiful reciprocity between humans and animals. The animal is liberated from excessive fur in the warmer months, and the hairs are spun into a garment that can keep the person warm for years to come. When we look at our clothes through this lens, their value becomes intrinsic.