Braiding Sweetgrass

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Did you know that each strand of silk in an ear of corn represents a pistil? And that the pollen (sperm) migrates down each pistil to fertilize an individual kernel of corn, the ovary? And this is how an ear of corn becomes a nutritious bundle of crunchy, sweet deliciousness every summer.  

I found these details fascinating, and there are many more surprising moments to discover in Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Although the book was published in 2013, the storytelling is still relevant and perhaps since then, even more pertinent and urgent.

Written by a member of the Potawatomi peoples, Robin Wall Kimmerer brings her background as a botanist, college professor and mother to the forefront. Her writing on nature is bolstered by science and also imbued with almost magical descriptions. 

The essays provide remarkable kernels of information on nature’s bounty and loss. We get to savor the luscious and sweetness of the spring strawberry. We learn how to plant, grow and weave sweetgrass baskets, hear the drops and pings of springtime maple syrup, and listen as fungal mycelium forms its mycorrhizal network of bridges between individual trees. And irregularly woven into the stories are her attempts to raise two daughters into wise and responsible women.

She also tells the story of our country’s indigenous peoples, her people.  She chronicles their trials, migrations and losses, and their attempts to regain control of the land, not necessarily for themselves, but for future generations.  A dedicated and disciplined storyteller, she’s an advocate for sustainability, reciprocity, attention to climate change and future survival of All species. She offers her indigenous knowledge as a complementary approach to mainstream scientific methodologies. And for those of us trained in more orthodox scientific methodologies, we can begin to understand how this is possible after reading her book.

Earlier this year, in October, 2022, Robin Wall Kimmerer was a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship award. 

Braiding Sweetgrass: It’s worth reading slowly, to savor and return to again.

Elaine Li Shiang 

Elaine is a retired physician who volunteered as a medical student and physician in Navaho Nation country in AZ and NM. Now retired from the practice of medicine, she grows shiitake mushrooms on her farm in southern New Hampshire.