"Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer
This is the second time I have read "Braiding Sweetgrass," I think this is one of those books that you can learn something new each time. I deeply appreciate Kimmerer's ability to combine art and science in such a seamless way, something that I want my art to do. I enjoy making art that is biologically accurate, but I also want it to carry the presence and power of the beings I choose to create art about.
Listening to the book this time around made me think more deeply about the gifts and duties that species have. Kimmerer talks about how each species has a special ability that makes them stand out, and therefore it is their responsibility to serve the world using the gift. One of her examples was that birds have the gift of singing, and it is their responsibility to use it. In a later chapter she is reflecting on the wasteland surrounding Lake Onondaga in New York. When she visited the site she witnessed ants creating an ant hill. Along the surface of the ground there is finally a thin layer of humus that has taken decades to form, but just under that layer is poisonous sludge. As the ants removed debris from underground to create tunnels they brought the sludge to the surface and the humus underground, piece by piece. This meticulous and slow process made me think of the gardening practice of tilling. The ants gift of earth movement is being enacted on this rejected land, and through their work they have begun reclaiming and loving the land. When speaking about humans, Kimmerer says that our gift is language, and that it is our responsibility to use our language to give thanks. To the world, and the beings we share the land with.
Another aspect of Braiding Sweetgrass is the discussion of the importance of language and how it has the power to change our culture and actions. Kimmerer makes the argument that the English use of "it" as a pronoun for animals and plants encourages us to treat these beings as object rather than something that has personhood. This objectification leads to mistreatment and disrespect, it allows us to ignore the beauty, power, and gifts of the beings we share this planet with. She suggests that we instead create a new pronoun to speak about these "greater than human" beings, ki (singular) and kin (plural). I deeply appreciate this perspective and I think it is a necessary change of behavior that I believe would then lead to a change in perspective.
This leads into her conversations about reciprocity and greed. Using the story of the Windigo from her Ojibwe ancestors she describes western society's ravenous hunger to consume constantly. This mythical beast is created when a person becomes so hungry that they are willing to become a cannibal, they are more focused on their own survival than they are on the community. Once a person has become a windigo they will never feel satisfied again and they are cast out of the community. The constant consumption and denigration of our planet urged by capitalism and western greed is very similar to the windigo and is in direct contention with the indigenous concept of the seventh generation. In many indigenous cultures there is the idea that we must understand the previous seven generations' experiences and consider how our actions will impact the upcoming seven generations. This way of thinking becomes an important lens to reflect on decisions and to ensure that we only take what we need. Reciprocity becomes the answer.
