Braiding Sweetgrass Analysis Essay Example

Have you ever thanked the world for what it gives us? Have you ever stopped to admire the beauty that the world creates, and we destroy so quickly? What does not belong to us, we take, steal, and tear down. As a result of reading Robin Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, the act of reciprocity that Indigenous people practice has captured my attention and made me reflect on how little humans respect the earth. People overindulge in what they want instead of only taking what they need. We forget to give back and acknowledge the land.

Native Americans practice reciprocity with the earth and other species. They care for the land, and the land cares for them. It is customary for them to ask permission and wait for an answer before harvesting plants. In the case of a no response, they leave empty-handed, however, in the case of a yes response, they leave a gift of tobacco to show their gratitude. “Mishkos kenimagwen. Isn’t this the lesson of grass? Through reciprocity the gift is replenished. All of our flourishing is mutual” (166). Kimmerer explores different ways that we can give back to the land throughout her book. Ways to help restore the damage we’ve created. In the chapter "A Mother's Work", it describes how the pond in her backyard has become so overpopulated with algae that it has become unusable. She decides to clean it up. Kimmerer wasn’t requested or forced to do this selfless act of service, by choosing to help restore this environment she assists an abundance of different species that call that pond their home. Without her help, the area would have become uninhabitable. Plants cannot thrive without people to prepare the land and to take care of them. People will lose a source of food, medicine, and knowledge without plants. In the text, Kimmerer highlights the fact that “we cannot live without them, but it’s also true that they cannot live without us” (140). Despite our ability to establish a strong and influential relationship with the land, people are so focused on themselves that they disregard all other species’ needs before their own.

In Trevien Stanger’s essay, he expresses how humans have such a distant relationship with the land and “perhaps, through ever more contemplation and action, we might work toward the ultimate challenge that Kimmerer lays at our feet like a braid of fragrant sweetgrass - the challenge to finally come Home into this ancient landscape. To no longer act as immigrants in a strange land - but rather as citizens of a land that you love, and of a land that loves you back” (9, T Stanger). Humans act as if they are above giving back and showing their appreciation for trees and plants. Who are we to deserve these free gifts? What makes us so special? As a community, we need to learn from Indigenous people and embrace their ways of life. We need to “take care of the land as if our lives and the lives of all our relatives depend on it” (215) and stop disregarding the earth like it is our own personal waste bin. As one student said before, “you wouldn’t harm what gives you love” (124).

We learn a great deal from plants and trees. They are our oldest and wisest teachers. By watching how these species live and prosper, we have adopted techniques and survival strategies that we still use today. Besides changing my idea of nature, Braiding Sweetgrass shed light on the issues that we still deal with today; discrimination, control of power, pollution, and people’s egocentric tendency to only think of themselves. In returning the favor to the plants and trees, we can start rebuilding a stronger and equivalent bond with the land.