Braiding Sweetgrass

On Saturday mornings, Sunday afternoons, year after year, I would go to the solitude of the pond and get to work. I tried grass ...

Confederacy was formed. Today, Onondaga Lake has the dubious reputation of being one of the most polluted lakes in the country. ...

beach makes a small ramp that lets me wade in and plunge into the deep clear pool at the center without raising a cloud. On a ho ...

and values are all called into service of her children.” Life unfolds in a growing spiral, as children begin their own paths and ...

The Consolation of Water Lilies Before I knew it, and long before the pond was ready for swimming, they were gone. My daughter L ...

fundamental unfairness of parenthood that if we do our jobs well, the deepest bond we are given will walk out the door with a wa ...

all the way to school and thank goodness it’s not pledge week. I remember my babies at the breast, the first feeding, the long d ...

uncontrollable sobs on the highway, please pull over!” The entire parking lot erupted in laughter and then we were all released. ...

serve a larger purpose. Pond lily leaves get their light and air at the surface, but are attached at the bottom of the lake to a ...

When I had exhausted my shoulders so they were as empty as my heart, I rested on the water, closed my eyes, and let the sadness ...

gradient exerts a pull on the air taken in by the young leaf. Since they are connected by air-filled capillary networks, the oxy ...

paper tight on one gift to read the label underneath. It was a jar of Vicks VapoRub! A little note fell from the twisted tissue ...

Allegiance to Gratitude There was a time, not so long ago, when my morning ritual was to rise before dawn and start the oatmeal ...

After a couple of days other students began following suit, so the teacher was calling “just because I thought you’d like to kno ...

not exactly liberty if they force you to say it, is it?” She knew different morning rituals, her grandfather’s pouring of coffee ...

older than English, they begin the recitation. It is said that the people were instructed to stand and offer these words wheneve ...

The kids sit remarkably still, listening. You can tell they’ve been raised in the longhouse. The Pledge has no place here. Onond ...

We turn our thoughts to all of the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give ...

Especially for food. A little boy in a Red Hawks lacrosse shirt steps forward to speak: Now we turn to the Medicine Herbs of the ...

effort, especially in a time when we are accustomed to sound bites and immediate gratification. When the long version is done at ...