English students learn from Braiding Sweetgrass

Evertson said he chose to have his class read the book because of its current popularity in the world of ecological studies, as well as its focus on Indigenous ways of knowing and traditional ecological knowledge.

The capstone course objectives include gathering a wide variety of disciplines and viewpoints into a wide-ranging exploration based upon the notion of getting outside or forcing students to explore something new, something disruptive to common experiences or perceptions, something that forces them to confront new information, new ideas, and new ways of seeing the world.

“I’ve taught the book before in my Environmental Literature class, and I knew the students would have a strong reaction,” Evertson said. “It is a hopeful and beautifully written book about braiding these various ways of knowing together, and helping non-indigenous people learn more about these cultures that have traditionally close ties to the land and thrived in America well before the resettlement of the continent after colonial contact.”

While teaching regional and American literature, Evertson said he tends to teach Indigenous literature from an outsider or settler perspective. He has been expanding his knowledge of Indigenous people and cultures so he can include it in his teachings. He is also on the Indigenous Recognition and Reconciliation group working on a land acknowledgement statement.

Additionally, Evertson said the book addresses the course’s outside theme. Each chapter requires readers to see the world around them with a new perspective, driven by lessons Kimmerer shares throughout the book, primarily the teachings of plants.

One of Evertson’s students, Isabel Manchego-Pena, agrees the book has made an impact on her.

“It captured me as soon as I read it and I thought it was super interesting,” Manchego-Pena said.

Manchego-Pena feels Kimmerer’s writing expanded her love of nature and helped with her capstone project.

“She’s not only doing a beautiful job at writing, but she’s capturing that essence in her writing and she’s beautifying nature in a way that others can visualize it,” Manchego-Pena said. “I think a lot of people don’t see nature with the beauty and the appreciation that she has, and it’s encouraging. It helps with my capstone project, because we are supposed to get outside and be in nature. Her words have helped me guide my project, where I want to go and what I want to achieve with it.”

During Chadron State College’s Thanksgiving Tribute to Indigenous Peoples Nov. 20, Evertson’s students handed out copies of relevant selections of the book, including a section titled Allegiance to Gratitude, which includes the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address that Manchego-Pena described as easy to digest and understand.

The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address was developed and published following an English translation in 1993. It acknowledges connections between human beings and other living beings in the world as well as the waters, sun, moon, stars, and unseen spiritual forces.

Manchego-Pena says that picking a favorite chapter was a challenge for her, but she favors a section from the end of the book talking about the wendigo, a mythological creature or evil spirit originating from the folklore of Plains and Great Lakes Native Americans, as well as some First Nations.

“At the end of the book we read about the wendigo, which is a creature that they talk about during the winter times, and it’s like a cannibalistic beast and monster, and it originates in humans,” Manchego-Pena said. “It’s really interesting how the author uses that as a metaphor for selfishness and greed and how it can get the best of us and eat us alive.”