Robin Wall Kimmerer speaks at Claiming Williams

Robin Wall Kimmerer, storyteller of Braiding Sweetgrass and Serviceberry, mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, will speak in a day of conversations at Williams College.

“The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective,” she writes. “Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together. All flourishing is mutual.” (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass).

Claiming Williams’ theme this year explores the intricacies of braiding, the college says, “and we invite all members of the community to consider our individual and collective relationships to people, spaces, technology, and the natural world.

“What innovative insights emerge when diverse fields intertwine their expertise for mutual benefit? How do shared stories and traditions create opportunities for reciprocal cultural exchange? How can we build networks of support and solidarity across different social justice movements? How are our identities both distinct and intertwined to form a stronger, cohesive self? How do we define, understand, and connect the strands from various sectors, cultures, ways of being, and ways of knowing in our community?

In coming together, we honor the individual, the collective, and deep collaboration.”

The day of events are free and open to all. (A few events meant for students will say so.) The college will also hold more events on other days that weave in the theme of this year.

7:30 p.m. Evening Keynote

• An Evening with Robin Wall Kimmerer, Chapin HallIn the twelve years since the release of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, the book has passed from hand-to-hand and became a quiet NY Times best seller.

  This important and beautifully penned book provides information, inspiration, and provocation toward healthier relationships and communities–from within ourselves to the greater world. The Claiming Williams committee is honored to announce that the author, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer will be conversing with Williams’ own Dr. José Constantine about a myriad of subjects covered in her text, and so much more.

  There will be a brief public Q&A after the discussion.”Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants and Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses.

  She 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.”

The evening keynote begins at Chapin Hall at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the talk is open and free to the public: no tickets needed. Overflow theater seating provided nearby. The link for streaming this event will be posted soon.

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