Shore
imagining being first a citizen of Maple Nation, before being citizen of the so- called United States of America, or even District of Columbia
Fellow pilgrim
Robin Wall Kimmerer – American Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology; and Director, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) (WIKI).
Senses
beauty of maple
Personal story
The night before my oath ceremony to become a U.S. citizen, I read a chapter of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, where she wondered what it would be like to be a citizen of Maple Nation, the bioregion in North America that stretches from the Great Lakes to the northeast corner of the United States and southeast Canada. In Maple Nation, which transcends political boundaries, sugar maples are more abundant than people and, as valuedcitizens, they provide gifts for the sustenance and flourishing of life, including shade to cool off buildings, syrup to be enjoyed and traded, and beautiful landscapes to adorn the community. Sugar maples make great citizens.
