and Kimmerer, R.W. Young (1995) The role of slugs in dispersal of the asexual propagules of Dicranum flagellare. McGee, G.G. And this is the ways in which cultures become invisible, and the language becomes invisible, and through history and the reclaiming of that, the making culture visible again, to speak the language in even the tiniest amount so that its almost as if it feels like the air is waiting to hear this language that had been lost for so long. Kimmerer: Yes. Magazine article (Spring 2015), she points out how calling the natural world it [in English] absolves us of moral responsibility and opens the door to exploitation. Mosses are superb teachers about living within your means. And thats all a good thing. She did not ever imagine in that childhood that she would one day be known as a climate activist. To be with Colette, and experience her brilliance of mind and spirit and action, is to open up all the ways the words we use and the stories we tell about the transformation of the natural world that is upon us blunt us to the courage were called to and the joy we must nurture as our primary energy and motivation. Jane Goodall praised Kimmerer for showing how the factual, objective approach of science can be enriched by the ancient knowledge of the indigenous people. Just as the land shares food with us, we share food with each other and then contribute to the flourishing of that place that feeds us. She writes about the natural world from a place of such abundant passion that one can never quite see the world in the same way after having seen it though Kimmerers eyes. You say that theres a grammar of animacy. She has served as writer in residence at the Andrews Experimental Forest, Blue Mountain Center, the Sitka Center and the Mesa Refuge. Select News Coverage of Robin Wall Kimmerer. But this book is not a conventional, chronological account. I think the place that it became most important to me to start to bring these ways of knowing back together again is when, as a young Ph.D. botanist, I was invited to a gathering of traditional plant knowledge holders. Robin Wall Kimmerer . 55 talking about this. Tippett: And it sounds like you did not grow up speaking the language of the Potawatomi nation, which is Anishinaabe; is that right? And so we are attempting a mid-course correction here. In Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (2013), Kimmerer employs the metaphor of braiding wiingaashk, a sacred plant in Native cultures, to express the intertwined relationship between three types of knowledge: TEK, the Western scientific tradition, and the lessons plants have to offer if we pay close attention to them. Schilling, eds. Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a gifted storyteller, and Braiding Sweetgrass is full of good stories. And if one of those species and the gifts that it carries is missing in biodiversity, the ecosystem is depauperate. Posted on July 6, 2018 by pancho. In 2022, Braiding Sweetgrass was adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. Ecological Restoration 20:59-60. Dr. Kimmerer has taught courses in botany, ecology, ethnobotany, indigenous environmental issues as well as a seminar in application of traditional ecological knowledge to conservation. Robin Wall Kimmerer: Returning the Gift. Trained as a botanist, Kimmerer is an expert in the ecology of mosses and the restoration of ecological communities. In this book, Kimmerer brings . It was while studying forest ecology as part of her degree program, that she first learnt about mosses, which became the scientific focus of her career.[3]. And that kind of deep attention that we pay as children is something that I cherish, that I think we all can cherish and reclaim, because attention is that doorway to gratitude, the doorway to wonder, the doorway to reciprocity. Kimmerer: Yes. Biodiversity loss and the climate crisis make it clear that its not only the land that is broken, but our relationship to land. And for me it was absolutely a watershed moment, because it made me remember those things that starting to walk the science path had made me forget, or attempted to make me forget. And the two plants so often intermingle, rather than living apart from one another, and I wanted to know why that was. Fleischner, Trinity University Press. As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land. Faust, B., C. Kyrou, K. Ettenger, A. 2004 Environmental variation with maturing Acer saccharum bark does not influence epiphytic bryophyte growth in Adirondack northern hardwood forests: evidence from transplants. I was lucky enough to grow up in the fields and the woods of upstate New York. ", "Robin Wall Kimmerer: Americans Who Tell The Truth", "Robin Wall Kimmerer: 'Mosses are a model of how we might live', "Robin W. Kimmerer | Environmental and Forest Biology | SUNY-ESF", "Robin Wall Kimmerer | Americans Who Tell The Truth", "UN Chromeless Video Player full features", https://www.pokagonband-nsn.gov/our-culture/history, https://www.potawatomi.org/q-a-with-robin-wall-kimmerer-ph-d/, "Mother earthling: ESF educator Robin Kimmerer links an indigenous worldview to nature". And it comes from my years as a scientist, of deep paying attention to the living world, and not only to their names, but to their songs. Reciprocity also finds form in cultural practices such as polyculture farming, where plants that exchange nutrients and offer natural pest control are cultivated together. It is the way she captures beauty that I love the most. Tippett: Im Krista Tippett, and this is On Being. 2013 The Fortress, the River and the Garden: a new metaphor for cultivating mutualistic relationship between scientific and traditional ecological knowledge. Just as it would be disrespectful to try and put plants in the same category, through the lens of anthropomorphism, I think its also deeply disrespectful to say that they have no consciousness, no awareness, no being-ness at all. Its such a mechanical, wooden representation of what a plant really is. Connect with us on social media or view all of our social media content in one place. and R.W. But the botany that I encountered there was so different than the way that I understood plants. She is the co-founder and past president of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge section of the Ecological Society of America. Tippett: And I have to say and Im sure you know this, because Im sure you get this reaction a lot, especially in scientific circles its unfamiliar and slightly uncomfortable in Western ears, to hear someone refer to plants as persons. The ability to take these non-living elements of the world air and light and water and turn them into food that can then be shared with the whole rest of the world, to turn them into medicine that is medicine for people and for trees and for soil and we cannot even approach the kind of creativity that they have. And it was such an amazing experience four days of listening to people whose knowledge of the plant world was so much deeper than my own. I created this show at American Public Media. [10] By 2021 over 500,000 copies had been sold worldwide. Native Knowledge for Native Ecosystems. Reflective Kimmerer, "Tending Sweetgrass," pp.63-117; In the story 'Maple Sugar Moon,' I am made aware our consumer-driven . A&S Main Menu. One chapter is devoted to the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, a formal expression of gratitude for the roles played by all living and non-living entities in maintaining a habitable environment. Kimmerer 2010. We want to make them comfortable and safe and healthy. As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. Kimmerer, R.W. American Midland Naturalist. Moving deftly between scientific evidence and storytelling, Kimmerer reorients our understanding of the natural world. 21:185-193. Bryophyte facilitation of vegetation establishment on iron mine tailings in the Adirondack Mountains . Disturbance and Dominance in Tetraphis pellucida: a model of disturbance frequency and reproductive mode. Tippett: In your book Braiding Sweetgrass, theres this line: It came to me while picking beans, the secret of happiness. [laughs] And you talk about gardening, which is actually something that many people do, and I think more people are doing. And so there was no question but that Id study botany in college. Driscoll 2001. She has served on the advisory board of the Strategies for Ecology Education, Development and Sustainability (SEEDS) program, a program to increase the number of minority ecologists. Were able to systematize it and put a Latin binomial on it, so its ours. Randolph G. Pack Environmental Institute. And its a really liberating idea, to think that the Earth could love us back, but it also opens the notion of reciprocity that with that love and regard from the Earth comes a real deep responsibility. 39:4 pp.50-56. I thank you in advance for this gift. Generally, the inanimate grammar is reserved for those things which humans have created. Today many Potawatomi live on a reservation in Oklahoma as a result of Federal Removal policies. She lives on an old farm in upstate New York, tending gardens both cultivated and wild. Forest age and management effects on epiphytic bryophyte communities in Adirondack northern hardwood forests. And I was just there to listen. 2012 On the Verge Plank Road Magazine. So thats also a gift youre bringing. NY, USA. If good citizens agree to uphold the laws of the nation, then I choose natural law, the law of reciprocity, of regeneration, of mutual flourishing., Robin Wall Kimmereris a mother, plant ecologist, nature writer, and Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology at the State University of New Yorks College of Environment and Forestry (SUNY ESF) in Syracuse, New York. Kimmerer: What were trying to do at the Center For Native Peoples and the Environment is to bring together the tools of Western science, but to employ them, or maybe deploy them, in the context of some of the Indigenous philosophy and ethical frameworks about our relationship to the Earth. Robin Wall Kimmerer: I cant think of a single scientific study in the last few decades that has demonstrated that plants or animals are dumber than we think. In a consumer society, contentment is a radical idea. Wisdom Practices and Digital Retreats (Coming in 2023). That would mean that the Earth had agency and that I was not an anonymous little blip on the landscape, that I was known by my home place. And so this means that they have to live in the interstices. Today, Im with botanist and nature writer Robin Wall Kimmerer. (1991) Reproductive Ecology of Tetraphis pellucida: Population density and reproductive mode. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Kimmerer,R.W. Lets talk some more about mosses, because you did write this beautiful book about it, and you are a bryologist. Wisdom about the natural world delivered by an able writer who is both Indigenous and an academic scientist. in, Contemporary Studies in Environmental and Indigenous Pedagogies (Sense Publishers) edited by Kelley Young and Dan Longboat. She is founding director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Introduce yourself. But that, to me, is different than really rampant exploitation. [music: Seven League Boots by Zo Keating]. Milkweed Editions. But the way that they do this really brings into question the whole premise that competition is what really structures biological evolution and biological success, because mosses are not good competitors at all, and yet they are the oldest plants on the planet. ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer. Thats not going to move us forward. Kimmerer 2002. Because those are not part of the scientific method. The Bryologist 103(4):748-756, Kimmerer, R. W. 2000. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Robin Wall Kimmerer (born 1953) is an American Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology; and Director, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF). She is currently Distinguished Teaching Professor and Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. 2006 Influence of overstory removal on growth of epiphytic mosses and lichens in western Oregon. And: advance invitations and news on all things On Being, of course. where I currently provide assistance for Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer's course Indigenous Issues and the Environment. Weaving traditional ecological knowledge into biological education: a call to action. She holds a BS in Botany from SUNY ESF, an MS and PhD in Botany from the University of Wisconsin and is the author of numerous scientific papers on plant ecology, bryophyte ecology, traditional knowledge and restoration ecology. The program provides students with real-world experiences that involve complex problem-solving. Kimmerer, R. W. 2008. The invading Romans began the process of destroying my Celtic and Scottish ancestors' earth-centered traditions in 500 BC, and what the Romans left undone, the English nearly completed two thousand . So its a very challenging notion. She holds a BS in Botany from SUNY ESF, an MS and PhD in Botany from the University of Wisconsin and is the author of numerous scientific papers on plant ecology, bryophyte ecology, traditional knowledge and restoration ecology. And thats a question that science can address, certainly, as well as artists. 2104 Returning the Gift in Minding Nature:Vol.8. Q & A With Robin Wall Kimmerer, Ph.D. Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Ecological Applications Vol. This conversation was part of The Great Northern Festival, a celebration of Minnesotas cold, creative winters. 111:332-341. She has spoken out publicly for recognition of indigenous science and for environmental justice to stop global climate chaos, including support for the Water Protectors at Standing Rock who are working to stop the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline (DAPL) from cutting through sovereign territory of the Standing Rock Sioux. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. About light and shadow and the drift of continents. Thats so beautiful and so amazing to think about, to just read those sentences and think about that conversation, as you say. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 2(4):317-323. Indigenous knowledge systems have much to offer in the contemporary development of forest restoration. Summer. Its good for people. So I really want to delve into that some more. In 2022 she was named a MacArthur Fellow. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Milkweed Editions October 2013. In winter, when the green earth lies resting beneath a blanket of snow, this is the time for storytelling. And I sense from your writing and especially from your Indigenous tradition that sustainability really is not big enough and that it might even be a cop-out. Her essays appear in Whole Terrain, Adirondack Life, Orion and several anthologies. Although Native peoples' traditional knowledge of the land differs from scientific knowledge, both have strengths . African American & Africana Studies As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land. The three forms, according to Kimmerer, are Indigenous knowledge, scientific/ecological knowledge, and plant knowledge. Kimmerer: It is. She describes this kinship poetically: Wood thrush received the gift of song; its his responsibility to say the evening prayer. Tippett: Flesh that out, because thats such an interesting juxtaposition of how you actually started to both experience the dissonance between those kinds of questionings and also started to weave them together, I think. Potawatomi History. BioScience 52:432-438. Kimmerer: They were. She writes, while expressing gratitude seems innocent enough, it is a revolutionary idea. She works with tribal nations on environmental problem-solving and sustainability. Ask permission before taking. Maple received the gift of sweet sap and the coupled responsibility to share that gift in feeding the people at a hungry time of year Our responsibility is to care for the plants and all the land in a way that honors life.. So each of those plants benefits by combining its beauty with the beauty of the other. The Bryologist 97:20-25. Tippett: Youve been playing with one or two, havent you? Kimmerer: I am. Kimmerer: Thats right. And having heard those songs, I feel a deep responsibility to share them and to see if, in some way, stories could help people fall in love with the world again. 16. Kimmerer is the author of "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants." which has received wide acclaim.
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