Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
13 reviews
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
this really is one of those books someone like me cant really add anything to; all i can say is that its an INCREDIBLE book that i think almost everyone should read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Grief, Death, and Racism
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
This book is so so good. I don't have the words to describe it. It is such a good blend of information and heart. She knows exactly when to pull from her degree, her heritage, and her lived experience. It is such a perspective shifter of a book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide and Colonisation
Moderate: Cultural appropriation
Minor: Violence, Religious bigotry, War, and Sexism
madzie's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
A very insightful and significant book. Kimmerer offers a lot of insights into plants, cultures, and our modern world, helping readers to examine the world they live in every day. Kimmerer has such a profound voice in her writing that is wonderful to read. She has wonderful, emotion-provoking descriptions throughout the novel that makes you truly feel these lessons. Toward the middle of the book, I felt like there was a lag in the flow of information where parts seemed not to fit together as well as in the beginning and end. Fundamentally, this is a well-written and important book that I would highly suggest to others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Animal death, Vomit, and Colonisation
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Genocide, and Death
Minor: Cannibalism
This book goes into graphic depth about climate change and the death of nature and our planet.indigoriverboat's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
I read this book very slowly, over a long period of time, because the ideas within it were so novel and engaging that I needed to pause and think. If you are interested in ecology or concerned about climate change, I urge you to read this book. It is an exploration of culture, relationship to land, botany, history, and mythology. I also highly recommend the audio book, as it is narrated by the author and hearing her voice adds to the experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
Moderate: Cultural appropriation
waybeyondblue's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Colonisation, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
kshertz's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.75
I’m glad I switched to audiobook! It is sooo much information! I did learn a lot but it’s hard to stay engaged the whole time. It’s a completely different way of looking at the world from what I’m used to so that makes sense. I was most interested in her personal story. I think if you’re interested in native knowledge of nature and all that it can be used for, you’d love this book. I took away from this book that native people know everything about the world and if we would just listen, we could too.
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Violence, and Xenophobia
dontwritedown's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.75
I have really mixed feelings about "Braiding Sweetgrass". It is quickly becoming the new "Teachings of Little Tree" minus the fact that the author's actually Native. You see it on every Native American Heritage Month reading list and if you're a voracious reader that happens to be Native, people either ask your opinion about it or just straight up tell you your opinion.
I had only read sections of the book in college, as this particular field doesn't interest me, like I care about the Earth, but I don't care so much that I'd be sharing closed tribal secrets to make you care unless I was dating you. Now this may also come from the fact that I am Haudenosaunee and she is Anishnaabe, but I do have a problem with her sharing so much more of Haud culture that Nish, especially without directly citing which elder told her what and gave her permission to include in her book, a problem that many before me have spoken up about. Like I never really understood why other Natives had an issue with the book from the excerpts I read, until I really got into it and was like.....yeah I see why it's a problem and I see why so many people want more diversity on these book reading lists.
Which brings me to the topic I had an issue with: the w*nd*go chapters and references. It's clear Robin is a Native woman of science who probably does not view that entity with as much respect as she should, but I personally felt very violated reading that chapter as you are NEVER supposed to use their name. And she used it SEVERAL times and it was an audiobook that I was listening to. There needs to be a censored version, in my opinion, for those of us who want to follow the traditional way of not naming these entities. I am not sure if she actually ran into one or just used one as a metaphor but bro that ain't cool (like I'm not trying to doubt her run in but as someone who has experience with scary, ancient supernatural entities this was the wrong way to address her experience in my opinion). And the way she used the entity in the epilogue just.....look I get it you want nonNatives to care about the Earth the way we care for the Earth but come on there had to be a better way than THAT!
Overall, if this book is at the top of your list for NAHM, please find a Native who will give you better book reccs. They're out there. Can we retire this one for a bit? Please I'm begging you.
I had only read sections of the book in college, as this particular field doesn't interest me, like I care about the Earth, but I don't care so much that I'd be sharing closed tribal secrets to make you care unless I was dating you. Now this may also come from the fact that I am Haudenosaunee and she is Anishnaabe, but I do have a problem with her sharing so much more of Haud culture that Nish, especially without directly citing which elder told her what and gave her permission to include in her book, a problem that many before me have spoken up about. Like I never really understood why other Natives had an issue with the book from the excerpts I read, until I really got into it and was like.....yeah I see why it's a problem and I see why so many people want more diversity on these book reading lists.
Which brings me to the topic I had an issue with: the w*nd*go chapters and references. It's clear Robin is a Native woman of science who probably does not view that entity with as much respect as she should, but I personally felt very violated reading that chapter as you are NEVER supposed to use their name. And she used it SEVERAL times and it was an audiobook that I was listening to. There needs to be a censored version, in my opinion, for those of us who want to follow the traditional way of not naming these entities. I am not sure if she actually ran into one or just used one as a metaphor but bro that ain't cool (like I'm not trying to doubt her run in but as someone who has experience with scary, ancient supernatural entities this was the wrong way to address her experience in my opinion). And the way she used the entity in the epilogue just.....look I get it you want nonNatives to care about the Earth the way we care for the Earth but come on there had to be a better way than THAT!
Overall, if this book is at the top of your list for NAHM, please find a Native who will give you better book reccs. They're out there. Can we retire this one for a bit? Please I'm begging you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Colonisation
maregred's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Minor: Genocide, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Cultural appropriation
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Racism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Death, War, Grief, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexism, Suicide, Vomit, Alcohol, Car accident, Cannibalism, Excrement, Abandonment, Child death, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Climate change, habitat destruction, pollution.susannaobrien's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
A beautiful meditation on the philosophy of reciprocity and power of gratitude. I enjoyed the interwoven details from the perspective of indigenous culture, academic science and personal history, and the way each has enhanced her commitment to protection and respect for the earth.
She writes poetically, which was often a joy, but sometimes felt like a slog. I really did find it too long, and sadly caught myself rushing through to finish the audiobook before my loan expire (Perhaps one to have a copy of and dip into). It definitely could have been edited as some chapters felt repetitive or dull. Or split into two, as I did appreciate the richness of the topics covered.
Overall, it exposed my to new ways of thinking and I know I'll be trying to take these ideas forward with me.
She writes poetically, which was often a joy, but sometimes felt like a slog. I really did find it too long, and sadly caught myself rushing through to finish the audiobook before my loan expire (Perhaps one to have a copy of and dip into). It definitely could have been edited as some chapters felt repetitive or dull. Or split into two, as I did appreciate the richness of the topics covered.
Overall, it exposed my to new ways of thinking and I know I'll be trying to take these ideas forward with me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Colonisation, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Addiction, Cultural appropriation, and Grief