PDF Summary:Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

In a society troubled by overconsumption and disconnection, what are plants, Anishinaabe Indigenous worldviews, and science all trying to teach us about restoring balance? In Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer explains how these three sources of knowledge show us how to flourish through a practice of mutual care with other people and the natural world.

As our industrial society puts increasing stress on ecosystems and climate change threatens the well-being of us all, we must shift from a consumption and competition mindset to one recognizing our interdependence. Then we can practice mutual care to enable all living beings to thrive. In this guide, we’ll explore models of mutual care evident in plants, Indigenous culture, and science. We’ll also examine how mutual care phenomena in the natural world translate to the human world, and we’ll update Kimmerer’s examples.

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There were only a handful of native speakers of Potawatomi alive when Braiding Sweetgrass was published, and Kimmerer explains that the decline of Potawatomi is significant specifically because of the way its grammar embodies the concept of mutual care. The loss of a language can lead to the loss of its cultural values, but Kimmerer also uses this as motivation to continue learning Potawatomi.

Preserving Languages That Prioritize Mutual Care

Many languages describe non-human beings as animate, but the number of languages spoken worldwide is rapidly decreasing. More than 200 Indigenous languages of North America have gone extinct, and this pattern extends to other continents as well. According to the Language Conservancy, 90% of the world’s languages are likely to go extinct over the next century.

Because of the distinct ways that languages like Potawatomi express mutual care, it is crucial that we preserve these endangered languages. Programs are already underway to revitalize Potawatomi using modern technology to make it more accessible. Many learning resources are available online, and a Covid-19 relief bill allocated millions of dollars to Native American language preservation.

Honorable Harvesting

In addition to stories and language, the Indigenous concept of honorable harvesting teaches us about mutual care by encouraging us to take care of natural resources. Kimmerer’s description of the Honorable Harvest includes guidelines for being considerate when harvesting wild fruits, medicinal plants, mushrooms, or other materials like bark and minerals.

(Shortform note: We synthesized the key ideas of the Honorable Harvest to make it straightforward to readers, but as Kimmerer notes, it is not a strict doctrine or understood as a set of rules in Indigenous communities. It is more of an intuitive understanding of how to be respectful and a set of habits learned from being immersed in a culture of mutual care.)

1. Take only what you need, never take the first or last, and never take more than half of whatever you’re harvesting. This ensures there’s enough for others.

2. “Ask” first. This could be a visual or logical assessment of whether the population is healthy enough to withstand some harvesting. It could also be a more spiritual or intuitive understanding of whether the plant or animal should be taken.

3. Give a gift in return. You could offer a gift to the plant you harvested by sowing its seeds or by putting compost under a tree that you harvested fruit from.

4. Use it well. Use the material well by making a useful tool or enjoying a meal, as opposed to letting it go to waste or storing it for no particular reason.

As an example, if you are looking for the medicinal plant comfrey to make a salve, you would never take the first one you spot, in case it’s the only plant in that region. After you leave the first one and find more of the plant nearby, the next step is to ask first: Is this species endangered by humans, habitat loss, or disease? Does the population seem healthy? In the case of comfrey, there’s likely an abundance of it, and it can even get too vigorous and start to take over.

The next step would be to harvest less than half of it and just enough to make the salve. Give a gift in return by replanting a root fragment in a new location. The harvested comfrey then benefits you, and the remaining comfrey will continue to thrive and benefit other living beings.

Simplify the Honorable Harvest

The steps of the Honorable Harvest can be simplified and applied to areas of your life outside of harvesting natural materials.

Guideline #3 tells you to give a gift back to nature, but this principle can be simplified even further to “be generous.” In The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt describes this habit in human communities as the “reciprocity reflex.” Similar to Kimmerer, he suggests that this instinct to repay others is useful from an evolutionary perspective, since giving back to other people when they help you increases everyone’s chances of survival. Kimmerer takes this a step further by suggesting that people benefit from a reciprocity reflex (giving a gift in return) with nature as well as humans.

The other three guidelines of the Honorable Harvest all boil down to the idea of practicing moderation. Therefore, instead of remembering the individual steps of all the guidelines, aim to be moderate in what you take from nature. In addition to benefiting your relationship with nature, studies show that practicing moderation can improve your emotional stability, your effectiveness at work, and your nutritional health.

Ceremony

In addition to their language and harvesting practices, ceremony is another way Indigenous people hold their communities accountable for their values of gratitude and mutual care. Ceremonies accomplish this through outward expressions of gratitude (such as song and dance) and by incorporating practical ways of caring for living beings. This section looks at specific examples of these types of ceremonies.

The Thanksgiving Address

In the Onondaga Nation, the Thanksgiving Address is considered “The Words That Come Before All Else.” It is a lengthy declaration of gratitude for various elements of the natural world, such as water, medicinal plants, and the moon. By reciting the Thanksgiving Address regularly, the community reinforces gratitude as a top priority. When gratitude is prioritized, people are mobilized to act generously and support other beings in return.

(Shortform note: Kimmerer implies that ceremonies like the Thanksgiving Address have a direct impact on the gratitude people feel and the way they act toward other beings. Scientific research backs up this theory, including a study showing that the feeling of gratitude makes people more likely to help other people, including strangers.)

The Salmon Return Ceremony

Another ritual reinforcing mutual care is a traditional ceremony performed in the Pacific Northwest to celebrate the annual return of salmon as they swim upriver to reproduce. This ceremony has the symbolic importance of honoring the salmon, an important food source in this region, and it also has practical components that keep the ecosystem thriving.

The ceremony involves days of feasting, dancing, and lighting coastal land on fire to guide the fish home. The fire keeps the land healthy by fertilizing it and stimulating the growth of medicinal plants and pasture for animals. As part of the ritual, the salmon are allowed to pass upriver without being harvested for three days. This ensures that the salmon population remains high, providing food security for the human community as well.

(Shortform note: The salmon ceremony went through a period of decline as a result of colonization, but Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest have revitalized it in recent decades and expanded its scope. There is now a Salmon Homecoming Alliance, a nonprofit organization that invites local families to participate in the celebration and also incorporates environmental educational programs.)

How Science Can Help Us Practice Mutual Care

Now that we’ve covered how plants and Indigenous wisdom can teach us to practice mutual care, we’ll look at how science also provides useful tools for mutual care. Species identification and research enables mutual care by increasing your familiarity with the natural world and providing evidence for how to be better land stewards.

Species Identification

Learning scientific taxonomy (the organization of species by groups and Latin names) is one way that science can contribute to a practice of mutual care. While Kimmerer notes that science is sometimes a reductive and mechanistic lens for viewing nature, it also provides a framework for recognizing and growing a relationship with another species.

For example, if you learn the Latin name for yarrow and its unique identifying characteristics, you might then notice it in the wild and harvest it for medicinal uses. You can make observations about what that plant needs to thrive and how you might cultivate it. Identification is a first step in establishing this mutually beneficial relationship.

(Shortform note: Kimmerer doesn't explicitly mention that for many people today, science is likely the most accessible framework for learning species identification. Many people no longer have community members to personally pass on knowledge about ecosystems based on intergenerational experience. However, with modern technology, you can take a class on botany online, or download a plant identification app on your phone. These are simple ways that science can facilitate the process of forming interspecies relationships that are key to Kimmerer’s concept of mutual care.)

Guidance From Research on Land Stewardship

Scientific research can also contribute to mutual care by providing information on how to restore ecological systems. One of Kimmerer’s examples of this is a study on sweetgrass showing that harvesting sweetgrass according to Indigenous practices helps it thrive, while leaving it alone diminishes it. Professors initially dismissed the research topic as useless, based on their assumption that harvesting plants is inherently harmful. However, the research illuminated a way that we can practice mutual care by maintaining an important species.

Nuances of Combining Indigenous Knowledge With Research Methods

As shown in this example, research on land stewardship can also benefit from the deep ecological knowledge of Indigenous people. However, using scientific research methods and incorporating Indigenous knowledge can be challenging and nuanced.

For example, researchers did another study on sweetgrass harvesting, which was intended to be an ecological assessment that would enable Wabanaki Indigenous people in Maine to harvest sweetgrass from their ancestral lands at Acadia National Park. However, by selecting random plots of sweetgrass to study in the park, they inadvertently ignored the fact these were not the same sites that traditional gatherers would have selected when harvesting sweetgrass.

Since the goal of the study was to assess the impact of Wabanaki gatherers in particular, the results would not have been an accurate picture. The researchers had to create a parallel study, where they allowed Wabanaki gatherers to select the harvesting locations and use traditional harvesting methods.

Missteps like this demonstrate the need for better communication and overlap between Indigenous communities and researchers so that science and traditional ecological knowledge add to one another.

Benefits of Practicing Mutual Care

The previous sections described how plants, Indigenous wisdom, and science traditionally practice mutual care, but why is mutual care so important? This section of the guide describes the ways that mutual care supports the long-term vitality of life on Earth, feelings of abundance and wealth, and a sustainable economy.

Long-Term Vitality

From the author’s perspective, mutual care is necessary for the long-term survival of humans and the environment because our well-being (human and non-human) is highly interdependent. In this sense, taking care of the environment is not about altruism, but rather sustaining the things that sustain us in return. For example, if we contribute to soil health by applying compost, reducing tillage, and growing cover crops, we ensure that the soil remains fertile to keep growing food for many generations.

(Shortform note: Kimmerer argues that mutual care ensures our long-term survival, individually and collectively. However, practicing mutual care as an individual, or even at the community level, doesn't guarantee that others will do the same. For example, at the global level, if one country implements mutual care by reducing carbon emissions that cause environmental harm, this change would likely not be significant enough to prevent the onset of more fires, droughts, and other extreme weather events. Therefore, this particular benefit of mutual care relies on its widespread adoption.)

Feelings of Abundance and Wealth

Another benefit of a culture of mutual care is experiencing feelings of abundance and wealth when you look at the physical world. Through the lens of mutual care, entities that were simply objects before, become gifts. You feel wealthy because there are insects that pollinate the plants that feed you, clouds that bring rain, and endless other gifts like this given to you every day. On the other hand, in a culture of individualism, your wealth consists of the commodities you own, and it is easy to feel that it is never enough compared to other people’s.

(Shortform note: This benefit of mutual care is difficult to prove with concrete evidence. Feelings of abundance and wealth are subjective, and even concepts like “happiness” are difficult to study due to people’s varying interpretations. However, one study confirms that comparing yourself to others based on finances has a negative impact on your emotional well-being.)

Sustainable Economy

Another benefit of mutual care is that it supports a sustainable economy. A “gift economy” based on mutual care is sustainable because its goal is to support life in general, rather than to accumulate wealth at the expense of others. In a gift economy, there are no commodities or property, and every person has a responsibility to take care of the earth’s gifts, including plants, animals, water, soil, and other people.

For example, all living organisms on Earth need water to survive, and in an economy based on mutual care, humans would not pollute or hoard water. Doing so would contradict mutual care by harming other beings and restricting access to a vital resource. In this scenario, clean water remains abundant to all organisms indefinitely.

In a capitalist economy, humans and whole ecosystems suffer from lack of clean water because humans own some of the water sources, profit from the commodification of water, and profit from industrial processes that make water toxic. This is unsustainable because the availability of clean water is diminished over time.

An Alternative Model for a Sustainable Global Economy

Kimmerer’s discussion of a gift economy based on mutual care includes a general argument for sustainability, but it doesn't include much detail on what this economic system would look like on a global scale. Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth makes a similar argument that an economy based primarily on growth (and therefore intensive extraction of natural resources) is unsustainable. However, rather than creating a gift economy where there are no commodities at all, Raworth recommends specific policies to reform the global economy and de-emphasize growth.

The central idea of the “doughnut economy” is to grow the economy enough to support the basic needs of all humans, but not so much that the economic growth exceeds the planet’s ability to regenerate resources that support life on Earth. Raworth’s conception of the post-growth economy requires the following changes: a negative-interest currency, tax reform, and breaking the culture of consumerism.

Strategies for Enacting Mutual Care With All Living Beings

Kimmerer recommends the following strategies to encourage mutual care with other people and other life forms, such as plants and animals, in your community.

Express Gratitude

Expressing gratitude reminds us to treat the things we’re grateful for with respect and care. Gratitude rituals are also a way to hold each other accountable for stated values. For example, to reinforce mutual care, you could take a moment before you start eating a meal to say thank you to the plants, animals, and humans who provided the meal.

(Shortform note: This strategy relates back to the Indigenous ceremonies that reinforce mutual care: They are spiritually meaningful and sometimes incorporate practical elements. In The Power of Ritual, Casper ter Kuile talks about how to turn simple activities into spiritually meaningful rituals by setting an intention before you begin, engaging your five senses to help you stay present, and practicing the ritual repetitively. These steps could transform ritual expressions of gratitude into a lived practice of mutual care.)

Tell Stories

Because cultural lore is an indicator of worldviews and priorities, sharing stories related to mutual care can guide us in healing our relationship with the natural world. Storytelling can inspire people to practice mutual care, caution people against selfish behavior that contradicts mutual care, and teach community members about why mutual care is important. Kimmerer notes that the Indigenous mythologies specifically described in the book are meant to be shared, and you can use the gift of language to tell your own stories as well.

(Shortform note: In Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari discusses the historical power of storytelling to motivate and change human behavior. Harari describes how the cognitive ability to tell stories enabled early humans to cooperate and create more advanced societies. Unlike their predecessors, Homo sapiens created “collective fictions” that provided the foundation for religion and ethics. This form of storytelling motivated people to cooperate on a mass scale.)

Steward the Land

Working the land is a straightforward way to practice mutual care through direct interaction. This could include gardening, removing invasive plants, or planting trees to restore a cleared forest. Making a garden benefits you and many other beings by providing food for pollinators, beautification of a space, an abundance of fresh food for your community, habitat for insects, increased soil health, and psychological satisfaction and enjoyment.

(Shortform note: Research confirms that gardening has a positive impact on our brain chemistry. Studies show that the benefits of gardening include increased happiness, memory retention, creativity, and self-esteem, and decreased effects of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and dementia.)

Advocate for the Land

Advocating to protect or restore land is another strategy for practicing mutual care. You can raise awareness about conservation needs in cases where natural spaces are at risk of losing biodiversity and habitat due to human development. You could also speak to your political representatives about cleaning up industrial waste sites to mitigate further damage.

(Shortform note: Kimmerer doesn't go into specific recommendations for advocacy, but there are many organizations to join, and there are online resources available about implementing effective advocacy campaigns. One guide recommends starting with in-depth research on the topic and surrounding legal issues, followed by a planning stage, the implementation of deliverables, measuring progress, and reflecting on and revising your strategy.)

Use Resources Mindfully

Practicing mindfulness with regard to resources encourages mutual care by influencing the way you invest your money and fostering gratitude. Try buying things that minimize harm to others and the environment. For example, buy local, organic produce that required fewer fossil fuels to get to you (because it wasn’t transported from far away by industrial vehicles) and did not have contact with toxic chemicals.

Another strategy for being mindful is to mentally trace your items back to their original living form so that you appreciate the lives given to make those items. For example, you could acknowledge the trees that a wooden bed frame and coffee table came from.

(Shortform note: Marie Kondo argues in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up that actively appreciating your material possessions increases their longevity and usefulness, linking the recommendation for resource mindfulness to the strategy of expressing gratitude. Kondo’s definition of “active appreciation” includes greeting your house and saying thank you to the items you use. These habits contribute to mutual care with the environment because if your items last longer, you can purchase fewer items and reduce your consumption of natural resources.)

Give Generously

Lastly, giving generously to other people and non-human beings is a way to practice mutual care in your community. Giving a gift contributes to the well-being of another person, and Kimmerer notes that the gift may also inspire the recipient to share with others in return. In the context of non-human beings, gift giving is a way to support the ecosystem that supports you. Gift-giving could include things like hosting a dinner for friends, volunteering at a community clean-up, sharing excess food, applying mulch to a tree, or planting a shrub with berries that are edible to birds and other critters.

(Shortorm note: In addition to helping the recipient of the gift, evidence suggests that giving gifts has psychological benefits for the giver as well. One study showed that participants were significantly happier when they spent more money on others compared to themselves. In addition, the proportion of money spent on others was more correlated to happiness than the actual amount of money people received. This research reinforces the inherent mutual aspect of giving.)