Humanity needs to repair its relationship with the earth before it can repair the earth.

Kimmerer argues that the damage humanity has done to the earth was not inevitable but is due to a lack of respect. According to Kimmerer, viewing nature as an inanimate bundle of resources ripe for the taking has created rampant overconsumption, with nature being exploited for profit and personal gain. Humans are taking from the earth things not freely given and are causing irreparable damage in the process, from pollution of the air and water to the extinction of plant and animal species. When the earth is not respected, everything from salmon to wood may be overharvested and entire habitats decimated in the quest for growth. Little can be understood about healing this hurt when nature itself is not understood. When the earth is respected, however, humanity may come to know nature not as being full of lesser species, but as being made up of fellow beings that all play an important role in maintaining the balance and health of the world overall. With this comes richer knowledge of ecosystems, the function of different species within them, and self-restraint in the face of the abundance the earth provides.

The unique responsibility of humans is to show gratitude for the earth’s gifts.

Throughout the text, Kimmerer emphasizes the idea that, in Indigenous tradition, gifts are not meant to be kept by the receiver forever. Gifts are meant to be passed on. In this way, a gift is both a blessing and a responsibility to use that gift to help others. All of nature is obligated to fulfill its responsibilities. This ranges from water, which uses its gift of life to sustain others, to birds, that use their gift of song to serenade the world. Humanity has many gifts, but chief among those is our capacity to show gratitude for the gifts we are given. These gifts come not only from other humans, but from nature as well, which provides us with all we need to survive, such as water, food, shelter, clothing, and medicine. Gratitude comes in many forms, but Kimmerer champions reciprocity and respect as the most appropriate forms of gratitude for the earth’s gifts. Reciprocity encompasses the idea of giving back, which is done by taking care of the land and sustaining the species we have taken from in order to survive. Respect means we take only what is freely given, and never take more than is needed.

Neither science nor Indigenous knowledge alone is enough to understand the world fully.

Kimmerer argues that science and Indigenous knowledge must be used in tandem in order to understand the world around us, for neither is whole without the other. Science provides the tools needed to train the mind in skills such as logic and observation, but is inadequate when attempting to address the spiritual or emotional complexities of nature. It also demands a separation of the observer from the observed, further detaching humanity from nature. Indigenous knowledge, on the other hand, provides the emotional and spiritual basis needed to engage with the world on a deeper level, but cannot provide the rigor and precision that the scientific method can. When both types of knowledge are joined, the picture of the world becomes far more complete, and, with this combined knowledge, new ways of knowing and understanding the world can be achieved.

The relationship between humanity and nature should be a reciprocal one.

Kimmerer points out that there is no such thing as infinite growth, and therefore no such thing has infinite resources. Nature is not a never-ending well that exists solely to satisfy humanity’s needs and wants, and it should not be treated as such. Millions of species depend on the earth just as humanity does, and all of these species, plant or animal, give back to the earth and their fellow species in some way. Much of the relationships in nature are circular, with one species providing what another needs, and then receiving something in return. Humanity, too, is part of this circle of relationships, but, as Kimmerer argues, we are not holding up our end of the bargain. It is humanity’s duty to give back to the earth in order to balance out what we have taken, both for our own future survival and the survival of other species. Gratitude is a key spiritual component of this reciprocity, but action is even more significant. It is not enough to feel love for the earth; love must be shown through physical action, such as harvesting responsibly, helping propagate seeds, and ensuring the continuation of species that we consume.

Take a Study Break