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Chapter 18, “In the Footsteps of Nanabozho: Becoming Indigenous to Place,” tells the story of the first man, Nanabozho, and through him examines the idea of an immigrant or settler becoming Indigenous to a place and learning to treat it as home. Nanabozho, as an immigrant to this new land, had to learn from it in order to live. As he walked, he learned not only the name of plants and animals, but also the power of duality. Every person holds within them the power to create and destroy. Both need to be balanced with humility so they may only be used for good. An example of this duality is the immigrant plants that came to North America along with European settlers. Plantain, or White Man’s Footstep, became naturalized by giving gifts of medicine and never taking too much, unlike other immigrant plants, such as kudzu, which drains habitats for its own gain. 

In Chapter 19, “The Sound of Silverbells,” Kimmerer tells the story of a camping trip with students in North Carolina during which she hoped to teach students the true wonder of nature and not just scientific facts. She had difficulty explaining Indigenous beliefs to a group of mostly Christian students, and felt she had failed to expand their worldview. However, the students still found the wonder of nature in their own ways, taught by the land. The students walked down the slope of a mountain singing Amazing Grace and, in Kimmerer’s eyes, showing their love and gratitude for the earth.

Chapter 20, “Sitting in a Circle,” is another story of a field trip with students. This time, the students must survive entirely off the land, and in doing so, hone their relationship with the earth and with each other. Kimmerer hopes to teach them to see nature beyond the bounds of science. The students quickly learn that all physical human needs can be met with nature, as they gather cattails, roots, and wood, and soon, spiritual needs as well. When asked how they can give back to the earth in thanks for all they have received, they come up with a myriad of ideas for how they can carry on the tradition of reciprocity in unique ways.

Chapter 21, “Burning Cascade Head,” details an Indigenous salmon ceremony once performed at Cascade Head in Oregon, and how ceremonies, when reciprocal with the earth, can help strengthen bonds between community and the earth. In the ceremony, the arrival of the salmon was celebrated with feasting, dancing, and a ritual burn at the top of the cliff, which created prairies for elk to feed on and people to gather medicine from. The salmon were also harvested responsibly, with the Indigenous peoples never taking too much. Kimmerer argues that, in modern day, people have continued ceremonies that celebrate other people, such as weddings and graduations, but have lost the ceremonies connecting them with the earth.

Read an explanation of a key quote from Braiding Sweetgrass (#4) about gratitude and its relation to the land.

Chapter 22, “Putting Down Roots,” discusses the challenges of restoration, whether it be to an ecosystem or a culture. It is not enough to simply bring back a language or a plant; much more must be done. In the case of culture, the Carlisle Indian School, where Indigenous children were forcibly taken and stripped of their culture, also stole Indigenous culture from future generations of children as well. When there is no one to remember culture, history, or a language, it is unable to be passed down. Much can be done to help heal that wound, such as replanting sweetgrass and other native plants, settling in ancestral lands, or speaking dying languages. 

Chapter 23, “Umbilicaria: The Belly Button of the World,” focuses on the reciprocal relationship between the two components of lichen—fungus and algal. Under ideal conditions, the two will not unite to create lichen, but when resources are scarce, they will come together and lay the groundwork for other species to later thrive. However, there is a limit to what they can survive, and they are slowly being killed by air pollution. Kimmerer encourages humans to unite as well and listen to the teachings of the lichen if we are to survive our deteriorating climate. 

Chapter 24, “Old-Growth Children,” tells the story of Franz Dolp’s land restoration project at Shotpouch Creek in Oregon, where he succeeded in recreating an old growth forest by hand. Old growth species, native to an area, form a reciprocal relationship with each other and maximize the efficiency and best use of the land. However, they can be fragile, especially when compared to opportunistic, pioneer species which take over and colonize an area, leaving nothing for any other species. One such old growth species is the cedar tree, which had been overharvested by loggers in the area and which Franz sought to regrow. Despite being a richly useful tree providing wood, a kind of “wool,” fiber, ropes, and medicine, cedars are difficult to propagate once overexploited.

Chapter 25, “Witness to the Rain,” is a meditation on paying attention to nature. On a rainy day, Kimmerer observes how water sometimes behaves unexpectedly, overflowing from brooks, running underneath the ground in hidden streams, and falling at different tempos. Kimmerer emphasizes that one cannot be separate from nature to understand its complexities: how time flows differently for trees and raindrops than humans, and that those senses of time are influenced by their interactions with other living things. For example, raindrops that have accumulated tannins in their path fall more slowly than pure water. In the end, human knowledge cannot replace natural wisdom.

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