English teacher Katie Tucker is currently reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass.”
“We all benefit from science. We all benefit from storytelling,” Tucker said. “It appeals to both sides of our brains.”
The title refers to a sacred plant in the author’s culture that is woven together in a braid. The three strands represent scientific knowledge, indigenous wisdom, and personal narrative. These aspects of Kimmerer’s identity are reflected throughout the chronological portrayal of sweetgrass’s life cycle: planting, tending, picking, braiding, and burning.
“I picked it up because I am part of a curriculum committee at the county office for tenth grade and one of the other teachers mentioned this as one of the books that she wishes we could get thousands of copies of,” Tucker said.
Author Robin Wall Kimmer is a botanist that is part of a native tribe in Canada. She weaves together both aspects of her identity to develop a narrative that merges science with her culture’s spiritual beliefs regarding the world around them.
“I would absolutely recommend this book,” Tucker said. “It says a lot about what it means to be human.”
The book examines how we as a society have lost our fundamental connection with the natural world. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing our role in the symbiotic relationship between humanity and mother earth.