Beka’s Reviews > Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants > Status Update

"Gratitude for all that the land has given us lends us courage: to turn + face the windigo that stalks us; to refuse to participate in an economy that destroys the beloved Earth to line the pockets of the greedy; to demand an economy that is aligned with life, not stacked against it.

It's easy to write that, but harder to do."

"In this vision of The Economy of the Commons, resources fundamental to our wellbeing (like water, land, + forests) are shared rather than commercialized. These contemporary economic alternatives strongly echo the Indigenous worldview in which the Earth exists not as private property for personal gain but as a Commons to be tended with respect + reciprocity for the benefit of all."

"The market system artificially creates scarcity by blocking the flow between the source + the consumer. For example, grain may rot in the warehouse while people starve because they cannot pay for it. The result is famine for some + wealth for others. The very Earth that sustains us is being destroyed to fuel injustice."

"The Honorable Harvest asks us to give back in reciprocity for what we have been given.

One of our responsibilities as human people is to find ways to enter into reciprocity with the more-than-human world. We can do it through gratitude, through ceremony, through land stewardship, science, art, and in everyday acts of practical reverence."

On the Three Sisters (corn, beans, squash) being planted together
"...The harmony of shapes speak their message: respect one another, support one another, bring your gift to the world and receive the gifts of others, and there will be enough for all."

"Rain fulfills her duty as she falls, because she was given the gift of sustaining life. What is the gift of humans? If gifts and responsibilities are one, then asking 'what is our responsibility?' is the same as asking 'what is our gift?'"

"How can we shape our lives in such a way that the land might be grateful for us?"

Love the reflections on beginning the day, at school or wherever, with gratitude for Mother Earth and all that she provides for us, rather than starting the day with an oath to a country or specific government.