Medicine Wheel for the Planet
A Journey toward Personal and Ecological Healing
-
-
4.5 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
FINALIST FOR THE 2025 HUBERT EVANS NON-FICTION PRIZE, PART OF THE BC AND YUKON BOOK PRIZES
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 SCIENCE WRITERS AND COMMUNICATORS OF CANADA BOOK AWARD
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
"This beautiful book can completely change how we approach science, using both Indigenous and Western perspectives, and how we can work collaboratively to help foster balance in nature." —Suzanne Simard, bestselling author of Finding the Mother Tree
For readers of Braiding Sweetgrass: Future-saving insights and approaches to science and ecology using both Indigenous and Western perspectives.
A farm kid at heart, and a Nlaka'pamux woman of mixed ancestry, Dr. Jennifer Grenz always felt a deep connection to the land. Which is why, after nearly two decades of working as a restoration ecologist in the Pacific Northwest, she became frustrated that she and her colleagues weren't making the meaningful change needed for plant, animal and human communities to adapt to a warming climate. She began to question the central conceit of restoration ecology: that somehow, we must return the natural world to an untouched, pristine state, placing humans in a godlike role—a notion at odds with Indigenous histories of purposeful, reciprocal interaction with the environment. This disconnect sent Dr. Grenz on a journey of joining her head (Western science) and her heart (Indigenous worldview) to find a truer path toward ecological healing.
In Medicine Wheel for the Planet, building on sacred stories, field observation and personal experience, Dr. Grenz invites readers to share in the teachings of the four directions of the medicine wheel: the North, which draws upon the knowledge and wisdom of elders; the East, where we let go of colonial narratives and see with fresh eyes; the South, where we apply new-old worldviews to envision a way forward; and the West, where a relational approach to land reconciliation is realized.
Eloquent, inspiring and disruptive, Medicine Wheel for the Planet circles in on an argument that a multiplicity of worldviews are required to safeguard our Earth.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In this eye-opening nonfiction read, Dr. Jennifer Grenz searches through historical knowledge to find solutions for healing the planet. Unfulfilled by her Western science training, Grenz began looking to her Indigenous roots for a more holistic understanding of ecology. Using the model of the traditional medicine wheel, Grenz marries her academic training with the three R’s of Indigenous methodology: Respect, Relationality, and Reciprocity. As a specialist in invasive plants, she brings a unique knowledge base to these discussions, asking in one example if an invasive species should be totally eradicated if it also provides food for pollinators. She bristles at Western-based “Eden”-style ecology—which, in her opinion, seeks to remove humanity from nature—while Indigenous teachings consider humans a key part of nature’s balance. Grentz’s approach of using both Western and Indigenous knowledge to help the Earth will reframe the way you think about the environment.
