Goldenrod: Literally Just Goldenrod

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When I saw that one of the prompts was "goldenrod," I knew that I'd end up recommending one of my favourite essays from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer!

I could have sworn that I saw it published on its own somewhere online, but I'm afraid it looks like you will have to acquire the book to read it. If it's not at your library (I highly recommend the audiobook, which is read by Kimmerer herself), archive.org does have a scan! It starts on page 39.

Dr Kimmerer is a Powatomi botanist and poet, and her book blends modern science, knowledge passed down via her indigenous heritage, and stories from her remarkably interesting life. Everyone I have recommended this book to has come out of it with a different take away. If you've read it, I'd love to hear you thoughts as well!

"Asters and Goldenrod" is an essay about racism in "Western" science, but not in the way that we usually think of "scientific racism." When Kimmerer first begins her botany programme, she tells her professor that she wants to learn why asters and goldenrod look so beautiful together. Her professors laugh this off as the frivolous interests of a silly young girl, and I think it highlights a fundamental issue with mainstream science. Kimmerer's question isn't just about her two favourite flowers, she wants to understand their relationship to each other and to herself. While science has gotten better about understanding ecology in the last few hundred years, I think we as "Westerners" (to the extent that the term means anything) tend to forget that we're also part of the ecosystem. We need these different perspectives in order to better understand our world, and I found it extremely upsetting that Kimmerer's professors didn't foster that curiosity.

Kimmerer then goes on to answer her question, and the answer takes her across multiple disciplines, all woven together in her stunning prose. This book will make you feel things about plants that you did not know were possible to feel about plants.

Goldenrod season is soon upon us in my little corner of the world, and every time I see them in bloom, I try to keep an eye out for their little purple companions. I think Kimmerer has really helped open my eyes to the beauty of the natural world around me. I hope her work will spark a similar love for you as well.

Comments

Re: Thoughts

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Oh, I absolutely love that humans have been making favourful meat dishes for over ten thousand years! I'd probably have to replace the meat with legumes, personally, since I don't find mushrooms to be particularly filling on their own as a meat substitute. I have been looking for more recipes with sage, since we started growing our own!

I will also be adding the cookbooks to my wishlist. I adore learning about new recipes!

I am not familiar with clam gardens! I will absolutely need to do more research on those! In return, I shall share a sci-show video about ancient engineering, which includes a fascinating section about the aborginal Gunditjmara people's eel farming techniques. I especially love this video because all 4 of their examples aren't from what we usually think of when we think of "advanced ancient cultures" (i.e. Egypt, Rome, and Greece). I always appreciate when educational content pushes back against the idea that the only ancient people who did anything worth talking about are "coincidentally" the ones we like to see as the progenitors of the "West." (Nevermind that most of the "Western canon" is built off of Classical texts preserved by the Byzantines in the western Mediterranean and built on by Muslim scholars, who laid most of the ground work for our modern understanding of science and mathematics *grumble grumble grumble*)

Anyway, I love the history of everyday things! One of my other favourite YouTube channels, Tasting History, does these gorgeous deep dives into food cultures and the history of specific ingredients. My favourite video is one where Max recreates an actual meal from the Roman frontier in England based on writings from a soldier who was stationed near Hadrian's Wall. There's just something really humanising in knowing that almost 2 millenia ago, there was a Roman legionnaire stationed at the furthest reaches of his empire, enjoying a hearty dish of apples and pork. Maybe he did amazing things, maybe he did terrible things. He probably did both. But regardless of who he was, he had to eat (like everyone else), and this is what he ate. And here's this guy living on a landmass that our legionnaire didn't even know about recreating and enjoying his dinner. It's such a nice reminder that despite time and space, we're all just people, and we all need the same things.

Sorry, I'll leave it off there. I have a lot of Big Feelings about the little things in history. I like the Big Showy Treasures as much as the next person, but show me a neolithic hairpin or a Mycenaean kylix and I'll be just as happy, honestly.