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"When we braid sweetgrass, we are braiding the hair of Mother Earth, showing her our loving attention, our care for her beauty and well-being, in gratitude for all she has given us"

This quote reminds us that respecting nature involves intentional actions, recognizing nature's overall value, and maintaining (not one-sided) a good relationship with nature.

-When you think of braiding someone's hair, that's typically an intentional action that requires focus and care. When we put this action in the perspective of braiding the sweetgrass (aka mother nature), it shows us what intentions with nature should be like filled with love, respect, and awareness. The quote also mentions showing gratitude. I think this is something we forget too often since we don't realize how much nature provides for us. The Earth is our home, it provides food, air, and water, all things necessary to have a functional life. We should take our time to give back to the Earth instead of always exploiting and taking advantage. There is a connection to stewardship as well in this quote. Where it says we are "showing her all our love and attention" this also talks about our responsibility as humans to keep the Earth looking nice and help its well-being. Overall this quote reminds us that respecting nature involves intentional actions, recognizing nature's overall value, and maintaining (not one-sided) a good relationship with nature.

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mapmakers

named

our part of the ocean "micronesia"

because they viewed

our islands & cultures

as small and insignificant

small enough to become

plantations church missions military bases

nuclear testing grounds detention centers scientific laboratories & tourist destination

small enough to be extracted for

souls phosphate tuna sugar copra labor

soldiers lands & waters (76).

This part of the poem isn't talking about Perez's relationship with the environment personally, but other humans, especially those in government/political authority. He repeatedly states in this poem "small enough" and "insignificant" to show that humans view their environment as something to be taken advantage of. This contradicts the poem from pages (34-35) of how the people of Guam appreciate their homeland and never take more than needed while in this case, the people in authority are the ones taking advantage of the environment and see it more as a capitalistic gain for themselves.

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hasso' before [we] enter

i halom tano'

tata asks permission

of i taotaomo'na

who dwell within

he closes his eyes

& whispers "ekungok"

~

as [we] walk

he recites the names of each tree

each elder

"niyok"

"lemmai"

"ifit"

"yoga"

"nunu"

who provides [us]

clothes & tools

canoes & shelter

food & amot

~

"when you take"

he says

"take with gratitude

& never more than

what you need" (34-35).

This part of the poem shows not only the author's care for the environment, but all of Guam who also value their environment. They ask for permission from their homeland in order to show their respect and are appreciative of the gifts their environment has given them by using the word "provides" with the basic necessities of living. And especially the last lines of "take with gratitude & never more than what you need". This shows that they don't take advantage of what they're given from the environment and don't exploit it for other things.

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"Perhaps the negative examples they see every day--brownfields, factory farms, suburban sprawl---truncated their ability to see some good between humans and the earth. As the land becomes impoverished, so too does the scope of their vision"

Kimmerer talks about the language of environmental destruction done by humans and how this breaks our relationship with the environment. Her last sentence when she talks about us humans seeing our environment in shambles, it shows that these negative portrayals limit our ability to think of a brighter future for the environment, something that will make us in harmony with nature. The language she uses emphasizes the power it can have to change someone's perspective about something, in this case, the environment.

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Epiphany in the Beans - Disassociation from Nature

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Epiphany in the Beans - Disassociation from Nature

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"He never grew a relationship with the land, choosing instead the splendid isolation of technology. He was like one of those little withered seeds you find in the bottom of the seed packet, the one who never touched the earth" (126).

The mention of this story showcases the importance of how language can be used to talk about our disconnection with the environment. Kimmerer uses juxtaposition with her word choice of "splendid isolation of technology" as for her friend, he had a great time by himself with technology rather than making a relationship with the environment. And the last sentence, she uses a metaphor to emphasize how much of a disconnect he had with his environment, to the point that it ended in him committing suicide.

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"Isn't is supposed to be just a matter of increasing net primary productivity of the artificially selected domesticated genotypes, manipulating environmental conditions through input of labor and materials to enhance yield?... What's love got to do with it? If a garden thrives, it loves you? If a garden fails, do you attribute potato blight to a withdrawal of affection?" (123).

-The first part of the quote gives a very technical feeling to how we approach agriculture using human manipulation to help increase productivity. The perspective tells us that nature is simply a tool to be exploited and controlled for human gain, where we often abandon the natural values of our ecosystem and the organisms within. There is a part that states, "What's love got to do with it?" This shows a utilitarian perspective where something is designed to be useful rather than attractive. A lot of this quote points out the lack of respect for nature.

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"We are linked in a co-evolutionary circle. The sweeter the peach, the more frequently we disperse its seeds, nurture its young, and protect them from harm" (124).

-Humans and nature evolve together in a mutually beneficial. As the peach becomes sweeter, which is the goal for humans, in return humans should help with the survival of of this peach tree by spreading its seeds and helping protect it. There is also the concept that nature and humans have a mutual benefit from each other. The Earth provides us with sustenance, while humans help sustain nature. "Nurturing and protecting the young" is a way humans care for what nature provides us with. There is a theme of stewardship here as well because this is an approach that helps with the overall well-being of the world rather than using it for short-term gain. "Co-evolutionary circle is also an interesting term; I think it shows a connection between all life forms. Respecting nature requires taking responsibility for maintaining the balance and health of these interconnected systems and realizing that human actions have an impact on them. We can also look at the sweetness of the peach as nature repaying those who respect and care for it. Ultimately, the quote tells us that treating nature with respect requires us to recognize our part in this co-evolutionary circle.

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"The land loves us back. She loves us with beans and tomatoes, with roasting beats and blackberries and birdsongs. By a shower of gifts and a heavy rain of lessons. She provides for us and teaches us to provide for ourselves. That's what good mothers do" (122).

This quote clearly shows Kimmerer's relationship with the environment. It's a reciprocal relationship where she takes care of her garden, and Skywoman gives back to her as well as she says "shower of gifts and a heavy rain of lessons". She has a mutual respect with the environment just as the environment gives back to her garden.

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Skywoman Falling - Dancing and Thanksgiving

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Skywoman Falling - Dancing and Thanksgiving

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"Skywoman bent and spread the mud with her hands across the shell of a turtle. Moved by the extraordinary gifts of the animals, she sang in Thanksgiving and then began to dance, her feet caressing the earth"

Kimmerer makes a connection to the language of dancing and song and how it relates to Skywoman and the Earth. She describes Skywoman's actions as an act of Thanksgiving, which shows how humans can treat the environment with respect and gratitude. The language Kimmerer uses showcases a mutual care relationship between humans and the earth.

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Both authors have a similar ideology that if you treat the environment with care and gratitude, then the environment will give that back as well. Their language to show this reciprocal relationship is different. Perez uses Chamorro language to talk about his environment, and even goes on to list the names of each tree, the sayings they say, in order to show respect to their environment. On the other hand, Kimmerer uses a God like figure called Skywoman, who is considered as "mother nature" and just like a person, if you treat someone with mutual respect and kindness, it will be reciprocated the same way. Using the words "shower of gifts", "provides lessons", and the Thanksgiving action shows her appreciation of her environment and what it's done to her.

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These quotes explore the complex relationship between humans and nature, with themes of mutual exchange, respect, and, interconnection.

-Mutual Exchange

The first quote talks about braiding sweet grass which focuses on the care of the Earth as an act of love and gratitude. This shows us a relationship where humans nurture nature while recognizing all it provides for us.

The second quote talks about a utilitarian perspective with nature challenging the idea that we need love and emotional connection with nature.

The third quote is a clear example of mutual benefit within nature. When the fruit is sweet, humans are more inclined to nurture and protect the peach tree.

-Respect

The second quote helps fight the idea that nature is simply a tool that we can use whenever we want for human benefit. We should be considering if love and respect play a part in our relationship with nature

In the first and third quotes, we can see that respect is displayed through acts of care such as protecting the peach tree or braiding the sweetgrass each action focusing on interdependence and gratitude.

-Interconnection

I think all the quotes have a part in exploring our interconnection with nature. The sweetgrass and peach show how our human-nature relationship thrives when we work together. The second quote shows us what happens when we lose this sense of interdependence and simply look at nature as a give and not giving back relationship.

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All these quotes highlight the importance of how language can showcase our disconnect from the environment, or our broken relationship with the environment. As for Perez, he talked about how government/political authority took advantage of their "small" and "insignificant" island, which then humans view their relationship with the environment as taking advantage in a way it benefits them for a capitalistic gain. As for Kimmerer, she talks about relationships of humans in general looking at brownfields and how seeing the destruction makes them view the environment in a negative light. And with her specific story about her friend, how his "splendid isolation of technology" had a dark twist as he was more invested in technology rather than the environment. The way that both authors use language to show other people's relationship with the environment and how it impacted them negatively or made them think negatively.

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My relationship with the environment is kind of the same as Kimmerer and Perez's ideology, that the way we treat the environment is the way the environment treats us back. So if we treat the environment with care, it will give us back to us as well, such as a downpour after a wildfire or nice sunny weather for weeks in the summer. This ideology stemmed from my religion as being Catholic. I've always believed that there was a God that controlled earth, or all living things. And that the earth is essentially God's creation. And that if we upset the earth, the earth will strike back such as lightning, thunder, or natural disaster. I know that science also plays a big part in those types of disasters but sometimes I still believe that those things happen because of human actions. Along with Kimmerer's idea of there being a Skywoman, my idea of Skywoman is just "mother nature". Some God like figure that we made up as a society that only focuses on the Earth and provides for us what we need or gives us disasters based on the way we treat the earth. My relationship on the environment has always been focused on the fact that if you treat it with care, it will take care of you back, or if you treat it with harm, harm will come to you in some form.

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Discuss ways that our relationship to the environment is represented and influenced by language and literature

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Discuss ways that our relationship to the environment is represented and influenced by language and literature

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Through Perez and Kimmerer's works, they show both the positive and negative relationships that humans can have with the environment. First, we can have a reciprocal relationship with the environment, meaning that however we treat the environment, the environment will treat us back the same way. This is represented through Perez's poem when he talks about he values his sacred homeland, and never takes it for granted using words such as "asking for permission" and "provides" to showcase his gratitude the land has given to him and the people of Guam. Secondly, Kimmerer shows that there can be bad relationships with the environments. For the bad relationship, she talks about the brownfields, ultimately describing them as human destruction. And since we view human destruction negatively, it changes our perspective about the environment stating that there could be no hope if no action is done further to fix it. The language they use in their works can either represent or influence the way we view our environment based on certain word choices they use to describe the environment, their actions towards the environment, or the stories that showcase their relationship with their environment.

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Explain how human relationships with our environment have changed and continued to change

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Explain how human relationships with our environment have changed and continued to change

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I feel like as humans, we have our own relationship with the environment ever since we were born, and that it may have changed overtime as we learn new things, hear difference perspectives, have life changing moments that alter our relationship with the environment. For Perez, growing up in Guam, it was a culture thing to respect the environment up until government authority had taken advantage of Guam, and now Perez views his environment as a land to be taken advantage of, rather than praise it for what it's given to the Guam people. And for Kimmerer, she's always had a reciprocal relationship with the environment and if she treats it with respect, it will give her gifts. But with her experience of seeing brownfields or her friend committing suicide, it changed her perspective of the environment and although it didn't alter her relationship with the environment, she saw how it could alter other people's relationship with the environment.

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Santos Perez, Craig. From Unincorporated Territory Åmot. Omnidawn Publishing, 2023.

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Skywoman Falling: &, Learning the Grammar of Animacy. Millefolium, 2018.

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Zest Books, 2022.

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I think since starting this course my perspective has changed a lot on nature. Before, honestly I think I did look at nature as something that simply provides for us. There are many ways that I contributed to the harm of the environment. I wouldn't really think twice about littering and other factors that might affect the environment such as wasting resources like letting the shower run for a longer time than I need to or keeping all the lights on in the house. Throughout the semester I started to appreciate the fact that nature provides so much for us, especially after reading the Amot. As someone who is studying pharmacy, I forgot where the roots came from for medicine and the answer for that is nature. So throughout the semester, I've been making changes to help better my relationship with the environment.