Category: 220 Reflections

What is a windigo to you? What would be analogous to a windigo in your culture, religion, or lore? (250 word minimum)

A windigo, to me, represents the selfish, primal nature that exists within all of us. This nature often shows itself in the form of our overconsumption. With our access to resources having improved drastically in the last 100 years, those who have the greatest access often take more than they need. We eat more food than we need to be satiated, we take more from the earth than we actually use, and we buy more and more useless gadgets and accessories while many people cannot even afford to rent an apartment. I believe that this reflects a primal nature that has existed in humanity since we came into existence. There has always been a “us vs them” mentality in us, which has directly led to a lack of empathy in our modern society.

This windigo is a direct representation of this endless hunger for “more”. It is our desire to take as much for ourselves as possible, because we know the “others” are going to do the exact same thing. The closest thing I could find to compare this entity to is the Seven Deadly Sins. Three of these sins, pride, greed, and gluttony, can be summed up into the idea of believing that you are better than the people around you. Pride, specifically, is centered around having a higher view of yourself compared to others. Meanwhile, greed and gluttony both focus on taking more than what you need, disregarding the needs of those around you. Wrath and envy, two more deadly sins, represent hatred or dislike for people who are not like you.

What is your favorite new word or phrase you’ve learned reading this book and why? What chapter of the book did this phrase appear? 100 word minimum)

“Even a wounded world is feeding us”. This quote stood out to me specifically because of what it means for humanity as a species. Despite all the damage we have made to our planet, it is still able to sustain and entertain our growing populations. While the effects of human activities, such as global warming and deforestation, are not permanent, they have still caused a major change in the
Earth. It makes me realize that we do not deserve the world that we live in. We take nearly everything from the natural world and do not appreciate the benefits that it gives us. We do not even make any efforts to make up for our shortcomings; we just continue to make the same mistakes repeatedly.

What does it mean to you to be “indigenous to the land?” Is it possible for the descendants of European white settlers to be indigenous to the land of people occupied by displacement of native people? Why or why not?

To be “indigenous to the land” is to have a history of living on and tending to a piece of land that spans generations. I believe that it is possible for the descendants of white settlers to be indigenous to America. Even though this land was taken away from the Native Americans, that does not take away from the fact that most modern Americans have had many generations of their family born on this land. White Americans who descend from early colonizers and settlers in the
1600s have over 4 generations in their family before them that were born on this land. While 400 years may seem like nothing compared to the thousands of years that the Native Americans spent in the Americas, it is still important to recognize the time and effort that was put into the land by those who came after them.

In what ways do you feel yourself connected to the divine through relationship with the land?

I feel like whenever you recognize the fact that the world was given to us by God, you grow an appreciation for the land that you have. Many people take for granted the land that they live on every day of their lives. We like to complain about the country that we live in or the type of landscape we live in, yet we make no effort to change our environment. Most people just choose to settle for a space that they despise and never learn to appreciate what they have. But noticing how the land you have is a gift from God can allow you to recognize the importance of what you have.

An implicit part of all the stories Kimmerer shares is that she has somehow developed intimate familiarity with each of the natural settings with which she interacts. What are the features that invite lots of the kind of interaction Kimmerer seems to think is valuable?

I believe that features that represent common experiences between a group of people, or ones that show the history of a people, can allow for more intimate familiarity. Humans are very social creatures, because of that, we like to identify with people who we have things in common with, like similar physical features, similar interests, or even similar life experiences. Even if we do not have the same experiences in life, as long as we identify with that group of people, it is as if those experiences are shared for us as well. These features could be trees with intricate designs, hills from hometown areas, or even parks that we used to visit as children. While these features could be ties to a greater shared history, they could also be connected to events that we experienced by ourselves or with friends and family. Anything natural that connects us with our old selves, or people we used to know, has the potential to also connect us to the natural world itself.

1. Exam. How did the first exam go? What study strategies did you use? Do you think these were useful?
   The first exam did not go as well as I thought it would. Before the exam, I mainly reviewed the Jigsaw Preps and Reading Reflections in order to prepare. These methods turned out not to be extremely effective, as I did not perform as well as I expected.
2. Grading Contract. Review your grading contract and assess yourself (See the ePortfolio Midterm checklist). Are you on track to earn your contracted grade? Include 5 sources (e.g., participation, project) of evidence to support your assessment. Are there any revisions you want to make?
   I believe I am on track to earn an A. I have performed all make-up work whenever I was unable to attend class, I have completed every group assignment successfully, such as Jigsaws and Research Project Outlines, I have contributed to group conversations, and all my work shows care and effort.
3. Engagement. We have 2 jigsaws, 2 lectures, and 2 chapters of Braiding Sweetgrass left in the semester. What are 3 things I can do to keep you engaged in the second half of the semester? Group activities, more engaging lectures, and class discussions of Braiding Sweetgrass would help make the rest of the semester more engaging.
4. Research Project. To what extent do you feel that you and your research partner(s) have been successful on your research project for CODE220 thus far? What are 3 changes you wish to implement moving forward? I believe we have done a good job at describing our research process and finding credible sources. In order to be more successful in the future, we must complete the assignments ahead of time, keep in touch throughout the week, and ensure we all have the same plans in mind.

1. In “Picking Sweetgrass”, Kimmerer encourages us to consider the degree of reciprocity in our transactions.
   a. How adequately do you think our money-based economy provides for reciprocity? (Kimmerer asks herself on page 177, “How do we consume in a way that does justice to the lives we take?”)
   I believe that our modern economy has a lot of shortcuts in order to ensure that the rich and powerful spend less money on goods or services that take a lot of effort from the lower class. For example, Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire founder of companies such as Tesla and the Boring Company, avoids paying taxes by changing his income status. Musk receives salaries from his multiple different companies in the form of stocks and cryptocurrency, which are not taxable. So, technically, his income is $0 a year. Along with that, multiple US companies, hoping to maximize their profits and enrich their owners, often outsource their product manufacturing to
   countries in Asia and Africa, where the people working on the products can be paid less than a dollar an hour.
   b. In what ways might the convenience of all of our “taking” — what Kimmerer sees as the rampant consumerism of modern life — complicate our participation in this reciprocity? The sad truth about being having a lot of money is that it is never enough. As people start to earn more money, suddenly their income goals start to rise. A million dollars a year is not enough, they want 10 million. After a couple years, they want 100 million, and all that money has to come from somewhere. Many of the millionaires in our modern society get rich at the expense of the poor. This unfair distribution is a result of the upper class paying less for a good or service than what it is actually worth. c. What do you think about Kimmerer’s conclusion that “[n]ot everything should be convenient” (179)? Rewards that are easy to earn are generally not as well appreciated if they were easy to attain. For example, designer clothes are not just valuable because they look better than generic store brand clothes, they are valuable because they are difficult to attain. This is why you often notice that people who just recently became rich wear a lot of designer outfits, while people who have been rich for years are less picky about the clothes that they put on. Once you no longer have to put in much effort to earn money, money means less to you, but when you’re working towards a project to get you rich, the money means everything to you. d. How might the rules of Honorable Harvest find adoption in our modern economy? What choices would consumers have to make in order for that to happen? In order for Honorable Harvest to be adapted in our society, our entire food industry would have to go through a drastic change. The food we currently get from crops is done so in a mass harvest that does not take time to acknowledge the life force of the plants. If we wanted to start performing practices, such as asking for permission from the plant, that means fruit and vegetables would be a lot harder to put onto shelves in supermarkets. This change would force consumers to either switch their diets or grow their own produce. e. How might cultural values stand in the way of such adoption? (Recall Kimmerer’s description of early European who regarded the rules of Honorable Harvest as laziness.) Many people may not understand or care about the cultural significance of such practices. Having access to an abundance of food is something that we take for granted nowadays. We do not truly comprehend the idea that the food we eat comes from multiple different forms of life that all play an important role in nature. f. Now focus on how this applies to the question of energy. Kimmerer says, “By no stretch of the imagination is coal given to us” (p. 187). Might the rules of Honorable Harvest be applicable to energy consumption? While the Honorable Harvest only focuses on caring for life energy, its rules can be applied to other forms of energy as well. Practices such as not overusing electricity or fossil fuels in order to save some for others could be done to stop the misuse of energy as a whole. g. What are some of the choices that Kimmerer is asking us to think about in this chapter? One of the ideas that Kimmerer questions is why we buy food and produce in supermarkets that come from animals and plants that are slaughtered at mass. There is no celebration of life or gratitude for resources involved in the process of bringing food to our grocery stores, simply killing in order to get the products that we want and need

1. What is your favorite quote from this section of Tending Sweetgrass?
   “If what we aspire to is justice for all, then let it be justice for all of Creation”. This quote is written on page 147 in the chapter Allegiance to Gratitude. This particular quote was impactful for me because it reminded me how we do not always look at the natural world as a part of us. Often, we view plants and animals as simple resources that can be used to fuel us as we further our expansion. Maybe it is because our modern lives are too busy for
   us to dedicate any time to preserving nature. Maybe it is because we see ourselves as above the rest of “Creation” simply because of our advanced minds. Regardless, the natural world is something that we have continuously exploited for our own gain, when it should be treated as equally as people.
2. Kimmerer discusses maple sap and how much is required to make just a little syrup
   and how much labor is involved not only for the people collecting and making it, but for the trees themselves to produce the sap. Think of an activity in your life that
   represents an amount of time that is unusually abbreviated. What shortcuts/conveniences do you rely on to live your daily life as you do? What would
   happen to your schedule if you could not count on these conveniences?
   I believe that social media and online messaging is a crucial part in shortening modern communication. Nowadays, we do not need a person’s phone number or email to get in contact with them. All we have to do is look up a person’s name on a social media platform such as Instagram or Facebook and we can get a direct line to communicate with them. This has proven to be a huge convenience in our daily lives. First of all, we do not have to fear about never talking to an old friend or relative again because of a lack of contact
   information. Along with that, social media platforms have made the messaging process across phone brands much easier, with sites like Instagram offering video calls and read receipts between different phone types. However, this type of communication can make interactions feel a lot less personal than real life. Online disputes happen all the time in our modern era because people are able to say whatever comes to mind and then hide behind a computer screen afterwards. This is a huge contrast to how life used to be before the internet, when the things you said truly had consequences. In my life, I know social media plays a huge role in the people I keep in contact with. Without the internet, I most likely would not have as many people to talk to or hear from on a daily basis. While this would make it difficult to keep in contact with old friends, I also think it would free up a lot of my time.
3. Kimmerer describes how Haudenosaunee children attending a school near her
   home recite a Thanksgiving Address every day. Imagine a public-school day in a
   typical public school in your area.
   a. What might it be like if the children followed a practice similar to the one
   Kimmerer describes in the school that the Haudenosaunee children attend? Is this
   a realistic suggestion? Why or why not?
   I feel like forcing kids to recite a Thanksgiving Address at school, not knowing
   whether or not these practices are also instilled at home, will not have any major effects on the average student. Most public-school students are either barely awake for the morning announcements or disinterested in school entirely, which would make this practice simply another routine for them. Besides, with the history of the United States government and Native American communities, I do not believe a suggestion like this would even be considered.
   b. Compare this to other common schoolroom practices, like reciting the “Pledge of
   Allegiance.” In what ways is might this be similar? In what ways different?
   In recent years, the Pledge of Allegiance has become a practice that most
   Americans do not take seriously. Even in high school, many students do not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance just because of what it represents to them. It is often a reminder to people of the corrupt actions the federal government has taken against people of minorities in the country’s past. I believe, while many students may look at this practice differently, tons of others will find a reason to reject it. c. What does this bring up for you about the changes you are willing to work for in order to live in the type of culture in which you hope to live? I hope for a society that is able to unite, not just as a nation, but as a species. Practices like the Pledge of Allegiance primarily focus on uniting the country, when our real goal should be to unite the world. We divide ourselves into groups based on culture, language, and race, and we reject anyone who is not like us. Even nature is rejected and kicked to the curb as if it is an infinite resource that we can go back to whenever we need it. Maybe practices like reciting the Thanksgiving Address are not the solution, but they are one step closer to uniting the world for the ultimate goal of preserving all life.

What is your favorite quote from this section and why is this so memorable to you?

One quote that stood out to me was from the chapter titled Learning the Grammar of Animacy: “Science polishes the gift of seeing; Indigenous traditions work with the gifts of listening and language”. This was memorable for me because it made me see science and tradition as two sides to the same coin. Scientific methods can allow us to better understand the natural world, but without certain traditions and customs, we will not be able to truly connect with the land that we are fighting so hard to learn more about. It is just like our senses of sight and hearing. We can still interpret the world around us with one of those senses missing, but we will never get full picture until we explore both paths.

What does reciprocity look like in your culture? Provide specific examples.

In my culture, unless there is a direct connection between the two people making the exchange, trade-offs are usually based on a system of currency. This is mostly
due to the fact that peoples’ ideas of the innate value of a product or service usually vary. Values of products or services are constantly changing, making currency the only item of consistency in society. I believe this difference truly shows how society is disconnected from one another. Outside of family and loved ones, people do not have much concern for one another. Exchanges are not a common thing in society nowadays. Many people simply prioritize gaining more from others than what they give. This is usually done by giving out a product or service with a lower value than the currency taken and using that currency to make an even exchange for themselves. In today’s society, it is not about mutuality, it is about tricking someone into thinking they are making an even exchange, just so you can end up with the higher value item in the end.

This section begins with the following quote, “Sweetgrass is best planted not by
seed, but by putting roots directly in the ground. Thus the plant is passed from hand to earth to hand across years and generations. Its favored habitat is sunny, well watered meadows. It thrives on disturbed edges.” What does this mean to you?

To me, I see planting sweetgrass by putting the roots in the ground as a
representation of the connection between man and nature. I am not an expert on
farming or planting, but I know that there are methods to plant multiple seeds at
once to yield more crops. Planting with the roots by hand seems like a more
intimate way to produce the sweetgrass. It’s not just about maximizing the amount of sweetgrass grown, it’s about forming that connection to the land and to the natural world. I feel like this idea of having a connection to nature has been lost in the modern era and replaced with a love for man-made products. We often take for granted the beautiful world that we live in since our lives are consumed by
technology. I like to compare this to light pollution in big cities. In cities with large
buildings and large populations, the bright lights used to illuminate the city at night often block out light from the stars. But if you find a place in suburban or rural areas to look at the night sky, you can see the stars clear as day, which is something a lot of us take for granted.

Specifically in “The Offering”, Kimmerer discusses how we focus our attention.
What are ways in which you choose to focus your attention and are you happy with these choices?

I tend to focus the majority of my attention on activities that make me happy in the moment, like spending money, instead of focusing on activities that will be
beneficial for the future. I am not happy with these choices, because I know I should have been preparing for my future months ago. Becoming an adult and starting college has taught me a lot about the real world. I realize now that I need to prepare myself for unfortunate circumstances that may occur in the future before they can happen. I have made mistakes in the past because of not prioritizing my future and I hope to correct that soon.

Conducting experiments as a scientist often requires certain traits. Scientific research, which can be described as studying natural occurrences for a pattern, is not for everyone. The people who do pursue this field of work often have one thing in common: curiosity. Prominent figures throughout history, such as Albert Einstein, do not just decide to become scientists one day. Their journeys often start with a child-like curiosity of the world around them. They question everything that happens around them, which can develop a passion to discover the reasons for certain occurrences in nature. As a result, not every scientist’s passions are limited to biological or chemical sciences. 

Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is one scientist that I can personally relate to, is a great example of a scientist who is truly passionate about making new discoveries. Tyson is an astrophysicist who often makes posts on Twitter about scientific inaccuracies in pop culture. For example, Tyson had once attempted to find the mass of the mythical weapon Mjolnir. Mjolnir is a hammer that is wielded by the Norse god Thor in both legend and in Marvel movies. In the Marvel movies, it is stated that Thor’s hammer was “forged in the heart of a dying star”. As a person who deals with the physics of celestial bodies, such as stars, Tyson used formulas that he knew to discover the theoretical weight of the hammer. While I may not have as much knowledge as Tyson on scientific topics, I can relate to Tyson’s curiosity of fictional characters as a man who has often pondered these same questions. 

Just like scientists such as Neil deGrasse Tyson, my interests in science do not just stop at one field. I have often found subjects such as physics, chemistry, and even biology, to be rather fascinating, which is mostly why I recently decided to change my major to Biology. I am interested in learning as much about these different fields of science as possible while I am at SIUE, not only to reach my goal of becoming a doctor, but also to finally find the answers to questions that I have had since middle school. I have always been curious about the way the world works, and I know that the science classes I will be taking these next few years, along with CODES, will allow me to test my theories and get a greater understanding on the universe.