Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Throughout the text, Kimmerer tells stories involving her family.

• What motif in the text is supported by incorporating these stories? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three examples from different sections of the text that support the link you have established between these stories and a larger motif in the text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how this motif supports one or more of the text’s thematic concerns: The Need for Reciprocity Between Humanity and Nature, The Intersection of Science and Spirituality, and Overconsumption as a Consequence of Modern Capitalism.

2. One of the central arguments of Braiding Sweetgrass is that hope for the future of the planet can be found at The Intersection of Science and Spirituality.

• Does Kimmerer make a compelling argument for this idea? (topic sentence)
• Summarize Kimmerer’s argument and the evidence she offers to support it.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain why this does or does not meet your standard for what constitutes a compelling argument.

3. Kimmerer compares and contrasts the market economy with the gift economy throughout her text.

• What are the key differences between the market economy and the gift economy? (topic sentence)
• Offer at least three pieces of evidence from throughout the text that support your interpretation of these differences.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how the contrast Kimmerer establishes supports the book’s thematic concerns with The Need for Reciprocity Between Humanity and Nature and Overconsumption as a Consequence of Modern Capitalism.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Is this book’s intended audience Indigenous or non-Indigenous? How can you tell? How does Kimmerer shape her text according to this audience’s needs? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position regarding how Kimmerer’s choices reveal both her intended audience and her perceptions of this audience’s needs and preferences. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text. Be sure to cite any quoted evidence in the format your instructor suggests.

2. Although Braiding Sweetgrass is, at its heart, a scientific and philosophical argument, it uses several literary techniques to engage the reader. How does Kimmerer position herself as a dynamic character within these essays? Where does she use lyrical language or vivid imagery? How does she utilize narrative, and what is the purpose of the shift in perspective when she employs her daughter as a narrator in the story about Hazel? Write an essay in which you explore the literary techniques that Kimmerer uses throughout this collection and comment on the intended effects of these techniques. Support your assertions with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the text; cite quoted evidence in the format your instructor suggests.

3. How does Kimmerer use historical evidence to support the collection’s thematic concern with The Need for Reciprocity Between Humanity and Nature? Do all the historical anecdotes have something in common, or do they seem to fall into different categories? Which anecdotes demonstrate the failure of European settlers to appreciate the need for reciprocity, and how do they demonstrate this? What are the consequences of this failure? Write an essay in which you demonstrate how some or all of the historical anecdotes included in the essays function as evidence of The Need for Reciprocity Between Humanity and Nature. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text. Be sure to cite any quoted evidence in the format your instructor suggests.