April 05, 2021

43. Braiding Sweetgrass.

Listen Later

59 minutes

[Nanabozho] walked the land, handing out names to all he met, an

Anishinaabe Linnaeus. I like to think of the two of them walking together.

Linnaeus the Swedish botanist and zoologist, in his loden jacket and woolen

trousers, with felt hat cocked back on his forehead and a vasculum under his

arm, and Nanabozho naked but for his breechcloth and a single feather, with

a buckskin bag under his arm. They stroll along discussing the names for

things. They’re both so enthusiastic, pointing out the beautiful leaf

shapes, the incomparable flowers. Linnaeus explains his Systema Naturae, a

scheme designed to show the ways in which all things are related. Nanabozho

nods enthusiastically, “Yes, that is also our way: we say, ‘We are all

related.’” He explains that there was a time when all beings spoke the same

language and could understand one another, so all of Creation knew each

other’s names. Linnaeus looks wistful about that. “I ended up having to

translate everything into Latin,” he says of binomial nomenclature. “We lost

any other common language long ago.” Linnaeus lends Nanabozho his magnifying

glass so he can see the tiny floral parts. Nanabozho gives Linnaeus a song

so he can see their spirits. And neither of them are lonely.

Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass is a collection of essays that

combine the scientific study of botany with Indigenous teachings on plants

(and humanity’s relationship to the natural world). Originally released in

2013, the book’s popularity has continued to grow. Chris and Suzanne explore

what makes this book so appealing, what the book is successful at, and also

what its limitations might be. In particular, Suzanne discusses some things

the book has inspired her to do in the year or so since she first read it.

Show Notes.

Robin Wall Kimmerer: Braiding Sweetgrass.

[Bookshop.]

Her other book, Gathering

Moss.

Our episodes on Memory Serves and

Monkey Beach.

Zoe Todd’s Twitter thread on Kimmerer’s

books.

Our episodes on Exile and Pride and

Times Square Red, Times Square Blue.

Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton, eds.: Shapes of Native

Nonfiction.

Speaking of urban Indigenous thought, here’s an upcoming essay collection

called Indigenous Toronto.

[Book launch.]

Tom Porter: And Grandma Said...: Iroquois Teachings: as passed down through

the oral tradition.

Amanda Earl, ed.: Judith: Women Making Visual

Poetry.

Dionne Brand: A Map to the Door of No

Return.

Tove Jansson; Letters from Tove.

Next: J.R.R. Tolkien: The Fellowship of the Ring.

[Bookshop.]

Support The Spouter-Inn on Patreon.

(Thanks!)

...more

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The Spouter-Inn

By Suzanne Conklin Akbari and Chris Piuma

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April 05, 2021

43. Braiding Sweetgrass.

Listen Later

59 minutes

[Nanabozho] walked the land, handing out names to all he met, an

Anishinaabe Linnaeus. I like to think of the two of them walking together.

Linnaeus the Swedish botanist and zoologist, in his loden jacket and woolen

trousers, with felt hat cocked back on his forehead and a vasculum under his

arm, and Nanabozho naked but for his breechcloth and a single feather, with

a buckskin bag under his arm. They stroll along discussing the names for

things. They’re both so enthusiastic, pointing out the beautiful leaf

shapes, the incomparable flowers. Linnaeus explains his Systema Naturae, a

scheme designed to show the ways in which all things are related. Nanabozho

nods enthusiastically, “Yes, that is also our way: we say, ‘We are all

related.’” He explains that there was a time when all beings spoke the same

language and could understand one another, so all of Creation knew each

other’s names. Linnaeus looks wistful about that. “I ended up having to

translate everything into Latin,” he says of binomial nomenclature. “We lost

any other common language long ago.” Linnaeus lends Nanabozho his magnifying

glass so he can see the tiny floral parts. Nanabozho gives Linnaeus a song

so he can see their spirits. And neither of them are lonely.

Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass is a collection of essays that

combine the scientific study of botany with Indigenous teachings on plants

(and humanity’s relationship to the natural world). Originally released in

2013, the book’s popularity has continued to grow. Chris and Suzanne explore

what makes this book so appealing, what the book is successful at, and also

what its limitations might be. In particular, Suzanne discusses some things

the book has inspired her to do in the year or so since she first read it.

Show Notes.

Robin Wall Kimmerer: Braiding Sweetgrass.

[Bookshop.]

Her other book, Gathering

Moss.

Our episodes on Memory Serves and

Monkey Beach.

Zoe Todd’s Twitter thread on Kimmerer’s

books.

Our episodes on Exile and Pride and

Times Square Red, Times Square Blue.

Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton, eds.: Shapes of Native

Nonfiction.

Speaking of urban Indigenous thought, here’s an upcoming essay collection

called Indigenous Toronto.

[Book launch.]

Tom Porter: And Grandma Said...: Iroquois Teachings: as passed down through

the oral tradition.

Amanda Earl, ed.: Judith: Women Making Visual

Poetry.

Dionne Brand: A Map to the Door of No

Return.

Tove Jansson; Letters from Tove.

Next: J.R.R. Tolkien: The Fellowship of the Ring.

[Bookshop.]

Support The Spouter-Inn on Patreon.

(Thanks!)

...more