Indigenous Sciences Reading Discussion Guide
Book Club Kit Selection
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of the Plants by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013)
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
One-Hour Book Club
| 8 minute read | Culture Change to Address Climate Change: Collaborations with Indigenous and Earth Sciences for More Just, Equitable, and Sustainable Responses to Our Climate Crisis by Heather Lazrus, Julie Maldonado, Paulette Blanchard, M. Kalani Souza, Bill Thomas, Danial Wildcat (2022) |
| 12 minute read | The Six Rs of Indigenous Research by Ranalda L. Tsosie, Anne D. Grant, Jennifer Harrington, Ke Wu, Aaron Thomas, Stephan Chase, D’Shane Barnett, Salena Beaumont Hill, Annjeanette Belcourt, Blakely Brown, and Ruth Plenty Sweetgrass-She Kills (2022) |
| 17 minute read | Operationalizing the CARE and FAIR Principles for Indigenous Data Futures by Stephanie Russo Carroll, Edit Herczog, Maui Hudson, Keith Russell, and Shelley Stall (2021) |
| 10 minute read | Incorporate Indigenous perspectives for impactful research and effective management by Natalie C. Ban, Alejandro Frid, Mike Reid, Barry Edgar, Danielle Shaw, and Peter Siwallace (2018) (requires login) |