Sweetgrass renewal after harvest signals the plant’s mutual need for people

Evidence

With their tobacco and their thanks, our people say to the Sweetgrass, “I need you.” By its renewal after picking, the grass says to the people, “I need you, too.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 585

Categorization

• XREF: This two-way declaration of need is a compact statement of full reciprocity — the polyad’s master concept — spoken from both sides of the relationship. — connects to: Humans can act as guardians who return care to their plant helpers — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 528; A plant species persists where it is harvested respectfully and departs where ignored. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 546; Sweetgrass persists only near Native communities that still harvest it — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 579 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Sweetgrass flourishes most in stands tended respectfully by human harvesters. #corroborates (0.95) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 962
• Indigenous harvesting practices are environmental factors plants depend on for survival #corroborates (0.90) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 499
• Some plants now depend on specific human harvesting practices to survive #expands (0.85) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 499
• Sweetgrass recolonizing disrupted land teaches that brokenness lies in human-land relationship #expands (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1232