48 pages • 1 hour read
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
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Part 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 4: “Picking Sweetgrass”
Part 4, Chapter 11 Summary: “Epiphany in the Beans”
Kimmerer argues that the secret to happiness is loving the land and knowing that it loves you in return. This knowledge comes to her while she is picking pole beans in her garden. The bright, summery taste of the bean seems like an expression of love to her in that moment, and she believes that the variety of food the Earth supplies is evidence that the land loves humans too. Because of this mutual love, she argues, humans have a responsibility to care for the Earth as it cares for them. Kimmerer encourages readers to plant gardens as a way of entering into a loving relationship with the land. She imagines gardening as a partnership where human labor and the life-giving gifts of plants come together to create a delicious expression of love.
Part 4, Chapter 12 Summary: “The Three Sisters”
The heart of Indigenous agriculture is the trio of plants known as the Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash. When planted together, these three plants grow more productively than when planted alone. The corn sprouts first, growing into a tall stalk. The bean plant then uses the stalk for support, growing vines up its length. The squash emerges last, growing broad leaves along the ground that eliminate weeds. The bean supports the trio by adding nitrogen to the soil. Indigenous legend says that the Three Sisters presented themselves to humans in a time of hunger. After the humans fed them generously, the Three Sisters revealed themselves to be corn, beans, and squash. Kimmerer presents the Three Sisters as a model for ecological living, demonstrating that reciprocal support and the sharing of gifts can create abundance for all.
Part 4, Chapter 13 Summary: “Wisgaak Gokpenagen: A Black Ash Basket”
Kimmerer makes black ash baskets with Potawatomi artisan John Pigeon. When Pigeon finds a tall, straight ash tree, he explains his task and asks the tree’s consent to cut it down. When he feels consent is given, he cuts the tree in a way that does not hurt it or nearby trees. Transforming the trunk into long, thin strips for weaving is difficult and time-consuming. Pigeon describes it as a useful metaphor for finding balance as a human. Before weaving, Pigeon instructs Kimmerer and other students to collect and save scraps and sawdust to honor the life of the tree. Kimmerer notes that three rows of weaving are required before the basket becomes stable. Using this metaphor, she identifies ecological well-being, material welfare, and human spirit as the three necessities of a stable society.
Part 4, Chapter 14 Summary: “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass”
This chapter is formatted like a scientific report, with an introduction, literature review, hypothesis, methods, results, discussion, conclusions, acknowledgments, and works cited. It describes a research project designed to determine why sweetgrass populations are dwindling. Sweetgrass basket weavers believed that reckless harvesting was causing numbers to decrease. Against the advice of the senior academics in her department, Kimmerer’s student Laurie tested this hypothesis by harvesting sweetgrass either according to traditional methods or haphazardly. Her research found that following the traditional Indigenous method—harvesting half of the sweetgrass on a given plant by pinching off the stem—led to a larger increase in growth than pulling by a root. Plants that experienced traditional harvesting were also more productive than those that were left untouched. Kimmerer interprets this finding as evidence of the reciprocal relationship between sweetgrass and Indigenous communities that use the plant.
Part 4, Chapter 15 Summary: “Maple Nation: A Citizenship Guide”
Kimmerer describes a map of the United States in which state lines are replaced by bioregions named after iconic species from each region. The northeastern United States, where Kimmerer lives, is labeled on this map as the Maple Nation. The Onondaga call the maple tree the leader of trees. Kimmerer notes that trees purify air and water, an important ecosystem service. She challenges readers to think about how society repays trees for this service.
In a sugarhouse, Kimmerer observes syrup production. The fire used to boil the sap is fueled by trees thinned from the maple forests; the smoke burned in production is carbon neutral. Climate change presents a serious challenge for maple trees. Kimmerer suggests that enacting environmental protections is an act of environmental reciprocity in thanks for the gifts of the trees.
Part 4, Chapter 16 Summary: “The Honorable Harvest”
The Honorable Harvest is the informal name given to the Indigenous principles and practices governing human interaction with the Earth and other beings. The first calls for humans to take care of the creatures that take care of us: Kimmerer points to a fur trapper who leaves nutrient-rich food for pregnant wild martens to ensure future generations. Another principle calls for humans to be accountable for the lives they take and introduce their intentions. Kimmerer describes the feeling of knowing a plant does not want to be harvested. Other principles demand that people only take what they need, that they harvest in a way that minimizes harm, that they share what they need, and that they give thanks for what is given. She challenges readers to follow at least one of these principles in their daily lives.
Part 4 Analysis
In the middle of this long section of Braiding Sweetgrass are two chapters featuring Potawatomi phrases in the title. “Wisgaak Gokpenagen: A Black Ash Basket” follows a Potawatomi basket maker as he transforms a black ash tree into a woven basket. “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass” takes the form of a scientific report describing Kimmerer’s attempts to merge Indigenous knowledge and scientific research. These paired chapters are at the heart of “Picking Sweetgrass”: as their bilingual titles suggest, they foreground Indigenous knowledge about The Interconnectedness of Life on Earth and ask Western thinkers to reorient their perspective to fit it, rather than fitting Indigenous thought into the dominant Western culture. Leading into these two chapters, Kimmerer recounts the story of the Three Sisters, the Indigenous account of why growing corn, beans, and squash together is so effective. Though Western scientists would later identify processes like nitrogen-fixing as part of the plants’ symbiotic relationship, the story of the Three Sisters demonstrates that Indigenous knowledge practices like storytelling codified and passed on important knowledge about plants long before science “confirmed” it. The Three Sisters chapter illustrates The Importance of Storytelling in Indigenous Communities—and to the world as a whole.
In “Wisgaak Gokpenagen: A Black Ash Basket,” Kimmerer takes a traditional basket-weaving class with Potawatomi artisan John Pigeon. She notes that while other classes begin “with a neat pile of materials,” (119) Pigeon’s class begins “with a living tree” (120). Following suit, Kimmerer begins the chapter with a lengthy discussion of black ashes as living beings. She writes that they “like to have their feet wet in floodplain forests” (120) and “are as affected by their sapling days as much as people are by their childhoods” (120). In describing the black ash as a “nonhuman forest person” (121-22)—rather than a resource to be collected for human use—Kimmerer reflects the Indigenous worldview in which she was raised. Later in the chapter, Pigeon gently scolds Kimmerer and her classmates for leaving wood scraps on the ground after preparing the ash strips for weaving. He reminds the class that the black ash “honored you with its life […] you owe that tree respect and should never waste it” (124). Pigeon’s words act as a reminder for Kimmerer and the reader of “the tradition of the Honorable Harvest: take only what you need and use everything you take” (125). Throughout the chapter, Kimmerer centers this worldview, demonstrating the deep respect for life at the heart of Indigenous culture.
Although “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass” takes the form of a scientific report, the chapter prioritizes Indigenous knowledge over formal academic research. She begins the chapter by acknowledging that Indigenous wisdom and scientific research “are such different ways of knowing and communicating” (133). Her concern about fitting Indigenous wisdom into the “tight uniform of scientific thinking” suggests that she believes traditional science to be restrictive or exclusionary. When her graduate student Laurie proposes a project related to Indigenous methods of harvesting sweetgrass, Kimmerer’s suspicions are proven correct, as other academics accuse Laurie of “wasting time” (138). These anonymous scientists’ dismissal of Kimmerer and Laurie’s research is evidence of their “unblinking assumption that science has cornered the market on truth” (138), and that Indigenous wisdom cannot be trusted. Ultimately, Laurie’s findings are “consistent with the theory voiced by our ancestors: ‘if we use a plant respectfully, it will stay with us and flourish. If we ignore it, it will go away’” (141). The use of direct quotes from “ancestors” in this section is evidence of Kimmerer’s belief in the validity of Indigenous wisdom. Western science merely recapitulates facts long known to Indigenous communities in a different form. Throughout the chapter, she foregrounds this knowledge, forcing the scientific method to fit around it.
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