Braiding Sweetgrass

their ancient flyway, you must not have a pulse. It’s true that these
victories are as small and fragile as origami cranes, but their power
moves as inspiration. Your hands itch to pull out invasive species
and replant the native flowers. Your finger trembles with a wish to
detonate the explosion of an obsolete dam that would restore a
salmon run. These are antidotes to the poison of despair.
Joanna Macy speaks of the Great Turning, the “essential
adventure of our time; the shift from the Industrial Growth Society
to a lifesustaining civilization.” Restoration of land and relationship
pushes that turning wheel. “Action on behalf of life transforms.
Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it
is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then
acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”
The last stop on the ride around the lake hasn’t been finished yet,
but the scene is planned. In this tableau there will be kids
swimming, families picnicking. People love this lake and take care
of it. It’s a place for ceremony and celebration. The
Haudenosaunee flag flies alongside the Stars and Stripes. Folks are
fishing in the shallows and keeping their catch. Willow trees bend
gracefully, their limbs full of birds. An eagle sits at the top of the
Tree of Peace. Lakeshore wetlands are rich with muskrats and
waterfowl. Native prairies green the lakeshore. The signpost at the
scene reads Land as Home.