I am writing to invite you to participate (and facilitate participation by students in your classes) in a special event upcoming this semester—a visit from MacArthur Fellow Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer to the University of Kentucky campus and the Lexington community. Dr. Kimmerer is a scientist and member of Citizen Potawatomi Nation and author of the bestselling book Braiding Sweetgrass.
Dr. Kimmerer will be speaking on Indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge for a general campus and community audience at the Singletary Center at noon on Thursday, April 6. I believe Dr. Kimmerer’s visit will facilitate critical community conversations about social and ecological relationships, and I want to invite you to consider integrating her work in your classrooms this semester. Specifically, you might consider including one or more chapters from Braiding Sweetgrass in your reading lists, and making Dr. Kimmerer’s lecture a required event, assignment, or extra credit opportunity for your students.