Native scholar Greg Cajete has written that in indigenous ways of knowing, we understand a thing only when we understand it with all four aspects of our being: mind, body, emotion, and spirit . . . science privileges only one, possibly two, of those ways of knowing: mind and body.

This quote, from the end of Chapter 5, “Asters and Goldenrod,” emphasizes the need for Indigenous knowledge in order to understand the world. Science looks at the world through a very narrow field of view, completely disallowing the emotional and spiritual aspects. Indigenous knowledge is able to fill in the emotional and spiritual gaps left behind. Both sets of knowledge work in tandem to create a more complete picture of the world.

The arrogance of English is that the only way to be animate, to be worthy of respect and moral concern, is to be a human.

Chapter 6, where this quote is from, discusses the grammar of animacy present in Indigenous peoples languages, which classifies words based on whether they are animate (a being) or inanimate (an object). English classifies anything that is not a human as an “it,” something less than a being, but animacy labels all aspects of nature as beings in one way or another. The only things considered to be inanimate objects are those made by human hands, such as tools or furniture. Animacy thus encourages a worldview in which the world around us is seen as our equal, and not as lesser.

If what we want for our people is patriotism, then let us inspire true love of country by invoking the land herself… If we want to grow good citizens, then let us teach reciprocity. If what we aspire to is justice for all, then let it be justice for all of Creation.

This quote is from the end of Chapter 11, “Allegiance to Gratitude,” in which Kimmerer encourages a culture of gratitude instead of a culture of blind patriotism. Our allegiance should not be to a political system, she argues, but to being grateful for all the gifts that the earth has given us and that sustain us every day. Citizenship is not just about performing duties for a country one is born in, but performing duties to the land itself by forming a reciprocal bond with it.

Reciprocity helps resolve the moral tension of taking a life by giving in return something of value that sustains the ones who sustain us. One of our responsibilities as human people is to find ways to enter into reciprocity with the more-than-human world.

This quote, contained in Chapter 17, “The Honorable Harvest,” explains one of the human duties that comes along with the gifts of the earth. In Indigenous belief, a gift is not simply a gift, but also carries a responsibility to pass on one’s blessing and share one’s own unique abilities with others. In this way, reciprocal bonds are formed, allowing both parties to benefit in a relationship. In this case, the sacrifice of an animal or plant is repaid by further sustaining the lives of other animals or plants, contributing to the ecosystem as a whole.

It is an odd dichotomy we have set for ourselves, between loving people and loving land. We know that loving a person has agency and power—we know it can change everything. Yet we act as if loving the land is an internal affair that has no energy outside the confines of our head and heart.

This quote comes from Chapter 21, “Burning Cascade Head,” which discusses the physical nature of human gratitude toward the land. It is not enough to simply feel gratitude for the gifts of the earth, or to love the earth, without taking action to give back to and respect the earth. In this chapter, the Indigenous peoples showed their gratitude and respect by not over-fishing the migrating salmon, and also by burning a ceremonial fire that cleared prairie for other animals to graze on.

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