Ive been thinking about the word aki in our language, which refers to land. Kimmerer: Sure, sure. Young (1996) Effect of gap size and regeneration niche on species coexistence in bryophyte communities. As an . and R.W. (1994) Ecological Consequences of Sexual vs. Asexual reproduction in Dicranum flagellare. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental . By Robin Wall Kimmerer. Hazel and Robin bonded over their love of plants and also a mutual sense of displacement, as Hazel had left behind her family home. 24 (1):345-352. Robin is a botanist and also a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Kimmerer, R.W. 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. Of European and Anishinaabe ancestry, Robin is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Part of that work is about recovering lineages of knowledge that were made illegal in the policies of tribal assimilation which did not fully end in the U.S. until the 1970s. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. And yes, as it turns out, theres a very good biophysical explanation for why those plants grow together, so its a matter of aesthetics, and its a matter of ecology. An example of what I mean by this is in their simplicity, in the power of being small. Dr. Kimmerer serves as a Senior Fellow for the Center for Nature and Humans. Tippett: And it sounds like you did not grow up speaking the language of the Potawatomi nation, which is Anishinaabe; is that right? 9. And the last voice that you hear singing at the end of our show is Cameron Kinghorn. Thats one of the hard places this world you straddle brings you to. If citizenship means an oath of loyalty to a leader, then I choose the leader of the trees. The Pause is our Saturday morning ritual of a newsletter. Robin Wall Kimmerer is the author of "Gathering Moss" and the new book " Braiding Sweetgrass". Muir, P.S., T.R. Nightfall in Let there be night edited by Paul Bogard, University of Nevada Press. We say its an innocent way of knowing, and in fact, its a very worldly and wise way of knowing. To love a place is not enough. 2023 Integrative Studies Lecture: Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer Kimmerer: Id like to start with the second part of that question. (November 3, 2015). Robin Wall Kimmerer - Amazon.com Tippett: Youve been playing with one or two, havent you? [laughs]. Gain a complete understanding of "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer from Blinkist. So each of those plants benefits by combining its beauty with the beauty of the other. Robin Wall Kimmerer received a BS (1975) from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and an MS (1979) and PhD (1983) from the University of Wisconsin. Kimmerer's family lost the ability to speak Potawatomi two generations ago, when her grandfather was taken to a colonial boarding school at a young age and beaten for speaking his native tongue. American Midland Naturalist 107:37. Vol. They are like the coral reefs of the forest. Recognizing abundance rather than scarcity undermines an economy that thrives on creating unmet desires. Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist, SUNY distinguished teaching professor, founding director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, and citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, appeared at the Indigenous Women's Symposium to share plant stories that spoke to the intersection of traditional and scientific knowledge. Hearing the Language of Trees - YES! Magazine Kimmerer explains how reciprocity is reflected in Native languages, which impart animacy to natural entities such as bodies of water and forests, thus reinforcing respect for nature. Restoration of culturally significant plants to Native American communities; Environmental partnerships with Native American communities; Recovery of epiphytic communities after commercial moss harvest in Oregon, Founding Director, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, Director, Native Earth Environmental Youth Camp in collaboration with the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, Co-PI: Helping Forests Walk:Building resilience for climate change adaptation through forest stewardship in Haudenosaunee communities, in collaboration with the Haudenosaunee Environmenttal Task Force, Co-PI: Learning fromthe Land: cross-cultural forest stewardship education for climate change adaptation in the northern forest, in collaboration with the College of the Menominee Nation, Director: USDA Multicultural Scholars Program: Indigenous environmental leaders for the future, Steering Committee, NSF Research Coordination Network FIRST: Facilitating Indigenous Research, Science and Technology, Project director: Onondaga Lake Restoration: Growing Plants, Growing Knowledge with indigenous youth in the Onondaga Lake watershed, Curriculum Development: Development of Traditional Ecological Knowledge curriculum for General Ecology classes, past Chair, Traditional Ecological Knowledge Section, Ecological Society of America. Robin Wall Kimmerer: Returning the Gift | DailyGood (22 February 2007). And Id love for you to just take us a little bit into that world youre describing, that you came from, and ask, also, the question I always ask, about what was the spiritual and religious background of that world you grew up in of your childhood? And some of our oldest teachings are saying that what does it mean to be an educated person? The school, similar to Canadian residential schools, set out to "civilize" Native children, forbidding residents from speaking their language, and effectively erasing their Native culture. So one of the things that I continue to learn about and need to learn more about is the transformation of love to grief to even stronger love, and the interplay of love and grief that we feel for the world. Top 120 Robin Wall Kimmerer Quotes (2023 Update) - Quotefancy Replenishment and invigoration in your inbox. The Bryologist 107:302-311, Shebitz, D.J. Kimmerer, R. W. 2011 Restoration and Reciprocity: The Contributions of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to the Philosophy and Practice of Ecological Restoration. in Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration edited by David Egan. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 2(4):317-323. BRAIDING SWEETGRASS | Kirkus Reviews Biodiversity loss and the climate crisis make it clear that its not only the land that is broken, but our relationship to land. The Bryologist 108(3):391-401. Kimmerer is also a part of the United States Department of Agriculture's Higher Education Multicultural Scholars Program. That is onbeing.org/staywithus. 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. Kimmerer: I am. XLIV no 4 p. 3641, Kimmerer, R.W. All of my teachings come from my late grandmother, Eel clan mother, Phoebe Hill, and my uncle is Tadodaho, Sidney Hill. Plants were reduced to object. "Robin Wall Kimmerer is a talented writer, a leading ethnobotanist, and a beautiful activist dedicated to emphasizing that Indigenous knowledge, histories, and experience are central to the land and water issues we face todayShe urges us all of us to reestablish the deep relationships to ina that all of our ancestors once had, but that And friends, I recently announced that in June we are transitioning On Being from a weekly to a seasonal rhythm. What is needed to assume this responsibility, she says, is a movement for legal recognition ofRights for Nature modeled after those in countries like Bolivia and Ecuador. Its good for land. Robinson, S., Raynal, D.J. 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. About Robin Wall Kimmerer Her current work spans traditional ecological knowledge, moss ecology, outreach to Indigenous communities, and creative writing. I hope you might help us celebrate these two decades. What were revealing is the fact that they have a capacity to learn, to have memory. Orion Magazine - Kinship Is a Verb "Another Frame of Mind". Tippett: One way youve said it is that that science was asking different questions, and you had other questions, other language, and other protocol that came from Indigenous culture. I mean, just describe some of the things youve heard and understood from moss. Tippett: You said at one point that you had gotten to the point where you were talking about the names of plants I was teaching the names and ignoring the songs. So what do you mean by that? (1982) A Quantitative Analysis of the Flora of Abandoned Lead-Zinc Mines in Southwestern Wisconsin. is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. To clarify - winter isn't over, WE are over it! Restoration Ecology 13(2):256-263, McGee, G.G. Robin tours widely and has been featured on NPRs On Being with Krista Tippett and in 2015 addressed the general assembly of the United Nations on the topic of Healing Our Relationship with Nature. Kimmerer is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, whose mission is to create programs which draw on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge for our shared goals of sustainability. Kimmerer: Thats right. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. and Kimmerer, R.W. Nothing has meant more to me across time than hearing peoples stories of how this show has landed in their life and in the world. And so this means that they have to live in the interstices. Kimmerer, R.W, 2015 (in review)Mishkos Kenomagwen: Lessons of Grass, restoring reciprocity with the good green earth in "Keepers of the Green World: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Sustainability," for Cambridge University Press. So its a very challenging notion. In Michigan, February is a tough month. Robin Wall Kimmerer Wants To Extend The Grammar Of Animacy Kimmerer: There are many, many examples. But I bring it to the garden and think about the way that when we as human people demonstrate our love for one another, it is in ways that I find very much analogous to the way that the Earth takes care of us; is when we love somebody, we put their well-being at the top of the list, and we want to feed them well. Although Native peoples' traditional knowledge of the land differs from scientific knowledge, both have strengths . The On Being Project is located on Dakota land. Krista interviewed her in 2015, and it quickly became a much-loved show as her voice was just rising in common life. Tippett: And also I learned that your work with moss inspired Elizabeth Gilberts novel The Signature Of All Things, which is about a botanist. In April 2015, Kimmerer was invited to participate as a panelist at a United Nations plenary meeting to discuss how harmony with nature can help to conserve and sustainably use natural resources, titled "Harmony with Nature: Towards achieving sustainable development goals including addressing climate change in the post-2015 Development Agenda. Potawatomi History. I was a high school junior in rural upstate New York, and our small band of treehugging students prevailed on the principal to let us organize an Earth Day observance. Im thinking of how, for all the public debates we have about our relationship with the natural world and whether its climate change or not, or man-made, theres also the reality that very few people living anywhere dont have some experience of the natural world changing in ways that they often dont recognize. From Wisconsin, Kimmerer moved to Kentucky, where she briefly taught at Transylvania University in Lexington before moving to Danville, Kentucky where she taught biology, botany, and ecology at Centre College. It is the way she captures beauty that I love the most. Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a gifted storyteller, and Braiding Sweetgrass is full of good stories. 55 talking about this. Today many Potawatomi live on a reservation in Oklahoma as a result of Federal Removal policies. Tom Touchet, thesis topic: Regeneration requirement for black ash (Fraxinus nigra), a principle plant for Iroquois basketry. Kimmerer, R.W. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim.Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding . How the Myth of Human Exceptionalism Cut Us Off From Nature She writes, while expressing gratitude seems innocent enough, it is a revolutionary idea. and M.J.L. And thats really what I mean by listening, by saying that traditional knowledge engages us in listening. Orion. She is also active in literary biology. So I really want to delve into that some more. Kimmerer, R.W. Kimmerer also has authored two award-winning books of nature writing that combine science with traditional teachings, her personal experiences in the natural world, and family and tribal relationships. But then you do this wonderful thing where you actually give a scientific analysis of the statement that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which would be one of the critiques of a question like that, that its not really asking a question that is rational or scientific. Learning the Grammar of Animacy in The Colors of Nature, culture, identity and the natural world. 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. Tippett: So when you said a minute ago that you spent your childhood and actually, the searching questions of your childhood somehow found expression and the closest that you came to answers in the woods. So reciprocity actually kind of broadens this notion to say that not only does the Earth sustain us, but that we have the capacity and the responsibility to sustain her in return. She works with tribal nations on environmental problem-solving and sustainability. We want to make them comfortable and safe and healthy. We're over winter. Braiding Sweetgrass Summary and Review | Robin Wall Kimmerer - Blinkist (1984) Vegetation Development on a Dated Series of Abandoned Lead-Zinc Mines in Southwestern Wisconsin. She shares the many ways Indigenous peoples enact reciprocity, that is, foster a mutually beneficial relationship with their surroundings. As a writer and scientist interested in both restoration of ecological communities and restoration of our relationships to land, she draws on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge to help us reach goals of sustainability. And I wonder if you would take a few minutes to share how youve made this adventure of conversation your own. Bring your class to see Robin Wall Kimmerer at the Boulder Theater Registration is required.. She spent two years working for Bausch & Lomb as a microbiologist. On Being is an independent, nonprofit production of The On Being Project. 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. This conversation was part of The Great Northern Festival, a celebration of Minnesotas cold, creative winters. She is active in efforts to broaden access to environmental science education for Native students, and to create new models for integration of indigenous philosophy and scientific tools on behalf of land and culture. Are we even allowed to talk about that? Kimmerer, R.W. Her enthusiasm for the environment was encouraged by her parents, who began to reconnect with their own Potawatomi heritage while living in upstate New York. 2008. Kimmerer: I do. A 23 year assessment of vegetation composition and change in the Adirondack alpine zone, New York State. 21:185-193. Do you ever have those conversations with people? Kimmerer is also involved in the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), and works with the Onondaga Nation's school doing community outreach. And having told you that, I never knew or learned anything about what that word meant, much less the people and the culture it described. Braiding Sweetgrass Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants as well as Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. 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. It doesnt work as well when that gift is missing. The Bryologist 97:20-25. Robin Wall Kimmerer est mre, scientifi que, professeure mrite et membre inscrite de la nation Potowatomi. Mosses become so successful all over the world because they live in these tiny little layers, on rocks, on logs, and on trees. High-resolution photos of MacArthur Fellows are available for download (right click and save), including use by media, in accordance with this copyright policy. Im really interested in how the tools of Western environmental science can be guided by Indigenous principles of respect, responsibility, and reciprocity to create justice for the land. You Don't Have to Be Complicit in Our Culture of Destruction Milkweed Editions October 2013. The Bryologist 94(3):284-288. Her grandfather was a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and received colonialist schooling at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 2004 Environmental variation with maturing Acer saccharum bark does not influence epiphytic bryophyte growth in Adirondack northern hardwood forests: evidence from transplants. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. But in Indigenous ways of knowing, we say that we know a thing when we know it not only with our physical senses, with our intellect, but also when we engage our intuitive ways of knowing of emotional knowledge and spiritual knowledge. The Michigan Botanist. But that, to me, is different than really rampant exploitation. We want to bring beauty into their lives. And so there was no question but that Id study botany in college. Kimmerer, R.W. You say that theres a grammar of animacy. And so there is language and theres a mentality about taking that actually seem to have kind of a religious blessing on it. Kimmerer: Yes. Her essays appear in Whole Terrain, Adirondack Life, Orion and several anthologies. (1981) Natural Revegetation of Abandoned Lead and Zinc Mines. "If we think about our. It was my passion still is, of course. Wisdom Practices and Digital Retreats (Coming in 2023). 2006 Influence of overstory removal on growth of epiphytic mosses and lichens in western Oregon. Young (1995) The role of slugs in dispersal of the asexual propagules of Dicranum flagellare. As an alternative to consumerism, she offers an Indigenous mindset that embraces gratitude for the gifts of nature, which feeds and shelters us, and that acknowledges the role that humans play in responsible land stewardship and ecosystem restoration. Trained as a botanist, Kimmerer is an expert in the ecology of mosses and the restoration of ecological communities. She works with tribal nations on environmental problem-solving and sustainability. Robin Wall Kimmerer to present Frontiers In Science remarks. Maintaining the Mosaic: The role of indigenous burning in land management. 7 takeaways from Robin Wall Kimmerer's talk on the animacy of One of the things that I would especially like to highlight about that is I really think of our work as in a sense trying to indigenize science education within the academy, because as a young person, as a student entering into that world, and understanding that the Indigenous ways of knowing, these organic ways of knowing, are really absent from academia, I think that we can train better scientists, train better environmental professionals, when theres a plurality of these ways of knowing, when Indigenous knowledge is present in the discussion. She serves as the founding Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment whose mission is to create programs which draw on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge for our shared goals of sustainability. Kimmerer, R.W. Lets talk some more about mosses, because you did write this beautiful book about it, and you are a bryologist. Trinity University Press. Oregon State University Press. Kimmerer is the author of "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants." which has received wide acclaim. 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. It turns out that, of course, its an alternate pronunciation for chi, for life force, for life energy. And we reduce them tremendously, if we just think about them as physical elements of the ecosystem. Windspeaker.com 2104 Returning the Gift in Minding Nature:Vol.8. Kimmerer, RW 2013 The Fortress, the River and the Garden: a new metaphor for cultivating mutualistic relationship between scientific and traditional ecological knowledge. 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. Kimmerer then moved to Wisconsin to attend the University of WisconsinMadison, earning her master's degree in botany there in 1979, followed by her PhD in plant ecology in 1983. Kimmerer 2010. Why is the world so beautiful? An Indigenous botanist on the - CBC Theyve figured out a lot about how to live well on the Earth, and for me, I think theyre really good storytellers in the way that they live. 5 Books about Strong Women, by Women | Ooligan Press For inquiries regarding speaking engagements, please contact Christie Hinrichs at Authors Unbound. They work with the natural forces that lie over every little surface of the world, and to me they are exemplars of not only surviving, but flourishing, by working with natural processes. We have to take. Kimmerer, R.W. Kimmerer: It is. Am I paying enough attention to the incredible things around me? Twenty Questions Every Woman Should Ask Herself invited feature in Oprah Magazine 2014, Kimmerer, R.W. It feels so wrong to say that. 14-18. Ses textes ont t publis dans de nombreuses revues scientifi ques. Im Krista Tippett, and this is On Being. By Robin Wall Kimmerer. In the absence of human elders, I had plant elders, instead. [music: If Id Have Known It Was the Last (Second Position) by Codes in the Clouds]. Kimmerer likens braiding sweetgrass into baskets to her braiding together three narrative strands: "indigenous ways of knowing, scientific knowledge, and the story of an Anishinaabekwe scientist trying to bring them together" (x). Syracuse University. ". Ecological Restoration 20:59-60. In the dance of the giveaway, remember that the earth is a gift we must pass on just as it came to us. That's why Robin Wall Kimmerer, a scientist, author and Citizen Potawatomi Nation member, says it's necessary to complement Western scientific knowledge with traditional Indigenous wisdom. Robin Wall Kimmereris a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The large framework of that is the renewal of the world for the privilege of breath. Thats right on the edge. PhD is a beautiful and populous city located in SUNY-ESF MS, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison United States of America. They have to live in places where the dominant competitive plants cant live. And the language of it, which distances, disrespects, and objectifies, I cant help but think is at the root of a worldview that allows us to exploit nature. Robert Journel 2 .pdf - Reflective Kimmerer, "Tending So much of what we do as environmental scientists if we take a strictly scientific approach, we have to exclude values and ethics, right? Kimmerer: Yes, kin is the plural of ki, so that when the geese fly overhead, we can say, Kin are flying south for the winter. November/December 59-63. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earths oldest teachers: the plants around us. And were at the edge of a wonderful revolution in really understanding the sentience of other beings. Braiding Ways of Knowing Reconciling Ways of Knowing ( Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, . And now people are reading those same texts differently. Kimmerer: They were. Again, please go to onbeing.org/staywithus. Center for Humans and Nature Questions for a Resilient Future, Address to the United Nations in Commemoration of International Mother Earth Day, Profiles of Ecologists at Ecological Society of America. Thats not going to move us forward. By Robin Wall Kimmerer 7 MIN READ Oct 29, 2021 Scientific research supports the idea of plant intelligence. And it worries me greatly that todays children can recognize 100 corporate logos and fewer than 10 plants. Kimmerer, R.W. Braiding Sweetgrass: Skywoman Falling, by Robin Wall Kimmerer AWTT has educational materials and lesson plans that ask students to grapple with truth, justice, and freedom. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants 154 likes Like "Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them. Kimmerer, R.W. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. We see the beautiful mountain, and we see it torn open for mountaintop removal. It is distributed to public radio stations by WNYC Studios. She describes this kinship poetically: Wood thrush received the gift of song; its his responsibility to say the evening prayer. 2005 Offerings Whole Terrain. Robin Wall Kimmerers grandfather attended one of the now infamous boarding schools designed to civilize Indian youth, and she only learned the Anishinaabe language of her people as an adult. And so we are attempting a mid-course correction here. Our elders say that ceremony is the way we can remember to remember. African American & Africana Studies And I have some reservations about using a word inspired from the Anishinaabe language, because I dont in any way want to engage in cultural appropriation. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She was born on 1953, in SUNY-ESF MS, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this book, Kimmerer brings . And I think of my writing very tangibly, as my way of entering into reciprocity with the living world. Tippett: Im Krista Tippett, and this is On Being. ", "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". [9] Her first book, it incorporated her experience as a plant ecologist and her understanding of traditional knowledge about nature.