Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals. She tours widely and has been featured on NPR’s On Being with Krista Tippett and in 2015 addressed the general assembly of the United Nations on the topic of “Healing Our Relationship with Nature.” Kimmerer lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, whose mission is to create programs which draw on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge for our shared goals of sustainability.

Forum Scholar: Anne Bower, PhD, Professor of Biology, College of Life Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University

Co-presented with the Jefferson College of Life Sciences.

Buy the Book

If you are interested in having your own copy of Braiding Sweetgrass to have & to hold, consider purchasing it from West Philly's own bookstore cooperative Making Worlds Bookstore & Social Center here. Learn more about Making Worlds here.

Braiding Sweetgrass Small-Group Discussion

Jefferson students, faculty, and staff are invited to join a small-group discussion to explore themes from Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants in anticipation of Robin Wall Kimmerer's 2/28 talk. This program will be facilitated by third-year medical student Steven Bieser. Copies of Braiding Sweetgrass will be offered to participants after the discussion. Learn more and register here.

About the Jefferson Humanities Forum

Each academic year, the Jefferson Humanities Forum explores a thought-provoking theme from a wide range of perspectives, inviting reflection and action around how we improve lives. During 2021-2022, the Jefferson Humanities Forum speaker series will bring a handful of multidisciplinary scholars and thinkers to investigate the theme Origins. Learn more here.

This event and all Jefferson Humanities Forum events are free and open to the public.

Questions? Or comments on how we can make this event more accessible to you? Please reach out to Matilda Ostow, Humanities Program Coordinator, at Matilda.Ostow@jefferson.edu.

This event is free and open to the public; register through Eventbrite to receive the Zoom link prior to the event.