Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
Book notes
The Council of Pecans
About tree collectives … “But we make a grave error if we try to separate individual well-being from the health of the whole.” p.16
“Whether it was their homeland or the new land forced upon them, land held in common have people strength; it gave them something to fight for. And so - in the eyes of the federal government - that belief was a threat.” p.17 (similar to Palestine)
“We Pecans have learned that there is strength in unity, that the lone individual can be picked off as easily as the three that has fruited out of season. The teachings of Pecans were not heard, or heeded.” p.18
Trees “communicate via pheromones” p.20 - how trees speak to each other!
As the People “come together again for a few days each year in a search for belonging.” p.21 (school away days, friend holiday reunions)
On gifts, values & relationships(!!) p.26 & p.28: “The essence of the gift is that it creates a set of relationships. The currency of a gift economy is, at its root, reciprocity … “bundle of responsibilities”” p.28
“A species and a culture that treat the natural world with respect and reciprocity will surely pass on genes to ensuing generations with a higher frequency than the people who destroy it. The stories we choose to shape our behaviors have adaptive consequences.” p.30
“How, in our modern world, can we find our way to understand the earth as a gift again, to make our relations with the world sacred again?” p.31
“The market economy story has spread like wildfire, with uneven results for human well-being and devastation for the natural world. But it is just a story we have told ourselves and we are free to tell another, to reclaim the old one.” p.31
Planted [26 Nov 2023 at 23:01]
Last tended [26 Nov 2023 at 23:13]