Post the read aloud of the Braiding Sweetgrass for young adults’ book in class, we will engage with the book through the themes that are woven throughout the book.

Learners will form circles (small circles per theme) or one large circle and share their reflections on the book and the different themes that emerge for them. There are some guiding questions for each theme below, though one does not have to stick to them. The circle is a space for people to share their stories and thoughts.

Another way to engage in this activity is –

In a jar put down chits of paper with the theme and a corresponding question about the theme that emerges. The people in the circle each take a turn to respond to the prompt/question on the chit of paper. Once one of the chits is spoken to, the group can take out another chit of paper and speak to other questions and themes.

Use the resource here to build on the conversation circle activity.

Theme 1: Community

Think about the quote “All flourishing is mutual.” How might you apply this concept of codependence to climate justice?

How do you see the disease of excess where you live, and in what ways is it fueling climate injustice for the community?

Theme 2: Good Medicine

In what ways can stories be medicine?

Has there been a time when you’ve questioned yourself, your beliefs, your ideas, your inner knowing because of something someone said? How did you reconcile that within yourself?

How do you feel when you are out on the land or by water? What needs are being met?

Theme 3: Gratitude

The word beautiful is used throughout this story [People of Corn, People of Light]. What are some different types of beauty you see around you?

What would you put on your blanket of gratitude?

Theme 4: Indigenous Wisdom

Identify a current issue faced by your community such as pollution, disease, or food security. How are the current solutions limited by science? Which worldview helps to imagine alternative solutions? What might be some alternative solutions?

As you think about your own and other human needs. Identify how the plants in the marsh meet those needs?

Theme 5: Kinship

Do you know the Indigenous names of the places you live? If not, how can you find out?

What would it be like to live with a heightened sensitivity to the lives given for ours? To consider the tree in the Kleenex, the algae in the toothpaste, the oaks in the floor? To follow back the thread of life in everything and pay it respect. How would it change the way you interact with those items and your world in general?

How or where do you see species loneliness in your life, community, and nation? What do you think are the consequences of this isolation?

Theme 6: Responsibility

What’s your first memory of being connected to all living things?

How can we shape our lives in such a way that the land might be grateful for us?

What does citizenship mean to you?

What is one change you can make to reduce the impact of Windigo thinking?

Theme 7: Design Elements of the book

What do you notice about the hands? What relationship do the “holder” and the “braider” share? How is this an example of reciprocity?

What message might be held in the sweetgrass braid?

In contemplating what you now know about circles, why might it have been important to the authors to create a circle within the books?