Resources and Services for Iowa Indigenous Peoples

The author, Robin Wall Kimmerer, is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. -- "An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science and a Native American whose previous book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation." As she explores these themes she circles toward a central argument: the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return."

The author, Robin Wall Kimmerer, is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. -- "Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses."

Includes chapter by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. -- "A diverse array of people--psychologists and poets, biologists and artists, a Buddhist teacher and a rock musician--share personal stories that reveal a common theme: when we pay conscious, careful attention to our wider world, we strengthen our core humanity. This practice of natural history leads to greater physical, psychological, and social health for individuals and communities. Nature, Love, Medicine features writers with varied backgrounds and talents. Notable contributors range from conservationist and author Brooke Williams and award-winning author Elisabeth Tova Bailey to Vietnamese Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and internationally known poet Jane Hirshfield."

Includes chapter by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. -- "This book examines the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and how it can provide models for a time-tested form of sustainability needed in the world today. The essays, written by a team of scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, explore TEK through compelling cases of environmental sustainability from multiple tribal and geographic locations in North America and beyond. Addressing the philosophical issues concerning indigenous and ecological knowledge production and maintenance, they focus on how environmental values and ethics are applied to the uses of land. Grounded in an understanding of the profound relationship between biological and cultural diversity, this book defines, interrogates, and problematizes, the many definitions of traditional ecological knowledge and sustainability. It includes a holistic and broad disciplinary approach to sustainability, including language, art, and ceremony, as critical ways to maintain healthy human-environment relations."