Extra Credit Event Review: Braiding Sweetgrass Talk

On Friday, April 12^th, I attended Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s keynote speech in the Corey Union Function Room titled “Braiding Sweetgrass: What does the Earth Ask of Us?”  Dr. Kimmerer’s speech was completely fantastic and moving, and I’m so glad I decided to bring my laptop and was able to take notes on some of concepts she shared.  Something that really stuck out to me was her overall (Native) approach/perspective on our relationship with the Earth.  Dr. Kimmerer discussed her transition to college where she was asked why she wanted to be a botanist by one of her professors, and her response was untraditional; she wanted to study the beauty of plants.  She described in detail her relationship to plants and the Earth; that she was raised to understand that plants were her brothers and sisters.  She proceeded to make the claim that “It is not the land which is broken, but our relationship to the land.”  This perspective is very new to me, but it’s something that makes perfect sense.  She claimed that in order to move forward and save the planet we need to fix our relationship with the land, our Earth, and a way of doing that is by accepting and taking on Native thought processes.

Additionally, I think she made an excellent point to reference higher education’s participation in Native American people’s erasure in higher education.  Personally, I grew up just 20 minutes away from the Seneca Nation territory, however, it is mind boggling to me that even in the state of New York, where we have multiple Native reservations, the education that we, as students receive about Native American culture and history is quite poor.  I strongly agree Dr. Kimmerer’s claim that higher education plays an important role in our understanding of aspects of Native culture and its values.  I think that it can be difficult for people to change their relationship with the Earth because of how most of us were educated or raised to think about Earth and how we use it as opposed to this healthy, balanced, and respectful relationship that Dr. Kimmerer discussed thoroughly in her speech on Friday.  Near the end of her speech, Dr. Kimmerer shared her thoughts on what it means to be educated.  She said that “an educated person knows their gifts and how to give them to the world.”  Again, she shares with us a unique, but quite positive perspective and mindset.  After listening to Dr. Kimmerer, it is very clear that she deeply values education, but contrary to what most people think of as the “correct” form of education, Dr. Kimmerer strongly believes that education comes from everything around you, especially our planet.

Overall, I was very moved by Dr. Kimmerer’s speech.  It really opened my eyes to a perspective I had never been made aware of, but once I heard her speak more about it, this perspective sat very well with me.  I hope I can continue to learn more about Native culture throughout my academic journey because I strongly feel it will well round me not only as a student, but as a person.