The Democracy of Species
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- Create Date：2021-11-05 08:51:08
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Robin Wall Kimmerer
- ISBN：0141997044
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Summary
In twenty short books， Penguin Classics brings you the ideas that have changed the way we think and talk about the living Earth。
Over the past 75 years， a new canon has emerged。 As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans， visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet， and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration。 Their words have endured through the decades， becoming the classics of a movement。 Together， these books show the richness of environmental thought， and point the way to a fairer， saner， greener world。
In The Democracy of Species Robin Wall Kimmerer guides us towards a more reciprocal， grateful and joyful relationship with our animate earth， from the wild leeks in the field to the deer in the woods。
Over the past 75 years， a new canon has emerged。 As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans， visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet， and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration。 Their words have endured through the decades， becoming the classics of a movement。 Together， these books show the richness of environmental thought， and point the way to a fairer， saner， greener world。
In The Democracy of Species Robin Wall Kimmerer guides us towards a more reciprocal， grateful and joyful relationship with our animate earth， from the wild leeks in the field to the deer in the woods。
Reviews
Audrey
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3。5/5An interesting book about how Natives interact with Nature， enjoyed most of it although sometimes it may have been a tad too spiritual for me。
Sally Piper
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Some overlapping content with her other book 'Braiding Sweetgrass'， but still a great read。 Some overlapping content with her other book 'Braiding Sweetgrass'， but still a great read。 。。。more
Meve
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Drawing on ideas of reciprocity with nature and ethical consumption， Kimmerer offers an important perspective on how we should view the animate world around us。 A view grounded in gratitude and perspective- it was worth the read。
Lani
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Minus the notion that an animal can offer its life to a hunter…
Irene
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Word to the wise， this little book is an excerpt of three of the essays already included in Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom， Scientific Knowledge， and the Teachings of Plants。 If I had known I wouldn't have bought a copy because I already owned it。As it is， these essays are some of the most engaging in the book， so if you want only a taste of what Robin Wall Kimmerer is about， it's a great place to start。The main conclusions I draw from her writings are that people are not removed from na Word to the wise， this little book is an excerpt of three of the essays already included in Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom， Scientific Knowledge， and the Teachings of Plants。 If I had known I wouldn't have bought a copy because I already owned it。As it is， these essays are some of the most engaging in the book， so if you want only a taste of what Robin Wall Kimmerer is about， it's a great place to start。The main conclusions I draw from her writings are that people are not removed from nature but part of the ecosystem， that we should only take what nature offers us and wild things should not be for sale， that language shapes how we relate to the world in the most fundamental ways， and that sometimes， things should be harder to do or to obtain if that means we're not destroying the planet。 And above all， that， as individuals， it's not possible to escape the aspects of society we don't care for while still partaking in it， but there are some things we can all do to mitigate our unavoidable hypocrisy。 。。。more
Stephanie Jane
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See more of my book reviews on my blog， Literary FlitsPenguin's 'Green Ideas' series is a new publication of twenty short books each written by an eminent environmental thinker and focusing on different aspects of our planet's environmental crisis。 I am grateful to Penguin for sending me review copies of five of these works and， on the strength of what I have read so far， I look forward to completing the set myself。Robin Wall Kimmerer's contribution to Penguin's Green Ideas series is her essay T See more of my book reviews on my blog， Literary FlitsPenguin's 'Green Ideas' series is a new publication of twenty short books each written by an eminent environmental thinker and focusing on different aspects of our planet's environmental crisis。 I am grateful to Penguin for sending me review copies of five of these works and， on the strength of what I have read so far， I look forward to completing the set myself。Robin Wall Kimmerer's contribution to Penguin's Green Ideas series is her essay The Democracy of Species which， as I began to read it， I realised was already familiar to me。 It is one of the chapters in her incredible book， Braiding Sweetgrass。 If you haven't already read that tome then this little excerpt is an excellent introduction to Kimmerer's ideas and ways of viewing human relationships with the natural world。 She focuses on how our language determines our attitude to the world around us， particularly contrasting the callousness of English against the inclusivity of her ancestral Native American language， Potawatomi。 She also discusses the idea of the Honorable Harvest， a concept alien to Western thinking， in which one only takes as much as is needed rather than taking everything and then being surprised when nothing is left。 In a week when the IPCC report declared Code Red for humanity almost entirely because of our voracious overconsumption of Earth's resources， The Democracy Of Species is a vitally important little book that everyone needs to read and act upon。 。。。more
A。 _____
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And just like that， the world seems a little bit more alive。 Fantastic。 RTC。--- "[W]e are called to go beyond cultures of gratitude， to once again become cultures of reciprocity"。 In The Democracy of Species， Robin Wall Kimmerer tells us a story and teaches us a lesson。 She tells us about learning Potawatomi， a language that should have been her first， but is now reduced to 9 native speakers and video lessons。 She tells us the story of discovering this language and learning to see the world anew And just like that， the world seems a little bit more alive。 Fantastic。 RTC。--- "[W]e are called to go beyond cultures of gratitude， to once again become cultures of reciprocity"。 In The Democracy of Species， Robin Wall Kimmerer tells us a story and teaches us a lesson。 She tells us about learning Potawatomi， a language that should have been her first， but is now reduced to 9 native speakers and video lessons。 She tells us the story of discovering this language and learning to see the world anew through it。 Languages hold ideas and worldviews that shape our perspective in ways we cannot articulate or comprehend unless we are confronted by something outside of it。 Kimmerer explores how the animacy of the natural world is built into Potawatomi; trees， rocks， rivers， animals and people are alive， have agency and value， and deserve respect。 The natural world is not a collection of objects， nature is not an 'it'， but a 'who'。 Kimmerer asks us to imagine "the access we would have to different perspectives， the things we might see through other eyes， the wisdom that surrounds us" if we could learn this grammar of animacy。 From this question， Kimmerer leads us deftly to one possibility--the Honourable Harvest， a collection of indigenous American principles and practices on sustainable land stewardship。 This is the heart of the book--exploring the question of responsibility and reciprocity， the Honourable Harvest， and the idea of an equal relationship with the land rather than just taking。 Kimmerer is a compelling writer and has a talent for showing perspective， for showing us the whys， hows and whats-nexts of looking at the world in a certain way。 Through stories and myths， Kimmerer guides us toward an understanding of this new perspective。 She takes from one step to the next， to ask "what is our responsibility is perhaps also to ask， What is our gift？ And how shall we use it？" Though this story and lesson deal so much with loss， Kimmerer ends on a very positive， uplifting note。 We still have agency， we still have gifts that we can use to mend our breaking world。 This 96-page book has already opened my world a little， made it a little more alive。 The Democracy of Species is a part of a 20 book collection from Penguin: Green Ideas， "the classics of the environmental movement"。 I will definitely be reading more books in the series。 （I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。） 。。。more
Sarah
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Part of the Penguin series "Green Ideas" - a collection of 20 short books on the environment。 Other authors with books in the series include Naomi Klein， Michael Pollan， Amitav Ghosh and Rachel Carson。 I jumped at the chance to get an ARC of Robin Wall Kimmerer's book included in the collection。 I've heard universally excellent things about Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom， Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants， and thought this would be a good opportunity to sample her writing Part of the Penguin series "Green Ideas" - a collection of 20 short books on the environment。 Other authors with books in the series include Naomi Klein， Michael Pollan， Amitav Ghosh and Rachel Carson。 I jumped at the chance to get an ARC of Robin Wall Kimmerer's book included in the collection。 I've heard universally excellent things about Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom， Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants， and thought this would be a good opportunity to sample her writing and ideas。The main focus of the book is how humans can work to have a more reciprocal relationship with the natural world -- think taking what you need in a conscious manner rather than endless exploitation。 This idea is explored through the idea of the 'Honourable Harvest'。 Kimmerer also reflects on her indigenous ancestry and their relationship with the world around them， and how language can shape our connections with plants and animals。 A very enjoyable read。 Recommended， and I'll definitely be checking out more books from the series。Thank you Netgalley and Penguin UK for the advance copy， which was provided in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Verity Halliday
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I thoroughly enjoyed this short， thought-provoking book。 Robin Wall Kimmerer explores her indigenous ancestry and her people’s relationship with the natural world， and we can all learn from her discoveries。 It seems vital to me that we need to live with humility and gratitude for the resources we take from the Earth to survive， being careful to take only what we need and ensuring the continuation of the species upon which we rely。I found it fascinating how the switch from English to the Potawato I thoroughly enjoyed this short， thought-provoking book。 Robin Wall Kimmerer explores her indigenous ancestry and her people’s relationship with the natural world， and we can all learn from her discoveries。 It seems vital to me that we need to live with humility and gratitude for the resources we take from the Earth to survive， being careful to take only what we need and ensuring the continuation of the species upon which we rely。I found it fascinating how the switch from English to the Potawatomi language altered the author’s perception of our environment， making it less “other” and more “us”。 The world would be a better place if we all lived by the practice of the Honourable Harvest。Thanks to the author， publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback。 。。。more
B。S。 Casey
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In The Democracy of Species， Kimmerer encourages a more symbiotic， respectful relationship with nature - with the animals we share our planet with， the trees and plants around us - to foster a more nurturing and sustainable world。 She writes from ethical， ecological and spiritual viewpoints - beginning with the power of the language we use。 Sharing her own experience of seeing her own native language and culture shrinking down to just a handful of people - she gives a valuable insight into their In The Democracy of Species， Kimmerer encourages a more symbiotic， respectful relationship with nature - with the animals we share our planet with， the trees and plants around us - to foster a more nurturing and sustainable world。 She writes from ethical， ecological and spiritual viewpoints - beginning with the power of the language we use。 Sharing her own experience of seeing her own native language and culture shrinking down to just a handful of people - she gives a valuable insight into their beliefs and their respect towards nature itself。 In just three sections， this was not only beautiful writing but created a true sense of kinship with the world and the writer that we could all use in the fight against climate change。 "We need acts of restoration， not only for polluted waters and degraded lands， but also for our relationship to the world。" 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Democracy of Species
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Democracy of Species&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft