BRAIDING SWEETGRASS

 Learning more about our indigenous peoples has been one of my unstated goals this year.

One book that has helped me better understand the legacy of our native peoples is called Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Although written in 2013, its messages and insights resonate today more than ever.

The author revisits her indigenous roots and laments how our modern ways have ravaged Mother Earth, a place that can only sustain us if we respect and nurture her.

Part of the wisdom she shares is what indigenous people call The Honorable Harvest. I hope you appreciate the simple truth and the call for reciprocity of its admonitions.

I know we'd all be in a much better place if we took The Honorable Harvest to heart and passed it on to our children.

There are rules of sorts that govern our taking, shape our relationships with the natural world, and rein in our tendency to consume. These fundamental principles are nearly universal among peoples who live close to the land.

Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.

Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.

Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.

Never take first. Never take last.

Take only what you need.

Take only that which is given.

Never take more than half. Leave some for the others.

Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.

Use it respectfully. Never waste what you've taken.

Share.

Give thanks for what you have been given.

Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.

                  Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.