Although this event has passed, you can still purchase a streaming pass to view the event through December, 16, 2024 at 7:30 PM (PT).
Author of the sensational Braiding Sweetgrass—a book that forever changed nature writing—Robin Wall Kimmerer returns with The Serviceberry. A bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world, The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us; all flourishing is mutual.”
All tickets, with the exception of a limited number of Pay What You Can and complimentary tickets, include a copy of The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. Books will be mailed by our bookstore partner to the ticket holder’s address.
Q&A with Colleen Echohawk.
As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love.
Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution insures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants as well as Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Kimmerer is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.
Colleen Echohawk is a Indigenous leader and advocate with more than 20 years of experience dedicated to serving the Seattle community. As an executive leader, designer, urban planner, and small business owner, Colleen has committed her career to elevating Native voices and advancing social justice. In her role as CEO of Eighth Generation, she leads a Native-owned lifestyle brand that showcases authentic Native art and culture to a global audience. Prior to this, as Executive Director of Chief Seattle Club, Colleen played a pivotal role in securing nearly $100 million for affordable housing and spearheading transformative efforts to reform homelessness systems. Colleen is a proud member of both the Kithehaki Band of the Pawnee Nation and the Upper Athabascan people of Mentasta Lake.
