Robin Wall Kimmerer

American environmentalist · United States · On the map · Scientists · Born 1953 · age 73

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a Potawatomi botanist, author, and the former director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF).

Robin Wall Kimmerer is read about 328 times a day, in 15 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2025Time 100Award2024“There is no formula complex enough to hold the birthplace of stories.”In their wordsThe Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (2024)Read the whole statement

“Regenerative economies that reciprocate the gift are the only path forward.”In their wordsThe Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (2024)Read the whole statement

“The guidelines of the Honorable Harvest are not usually written down, they are reinforced in small acts of daily life.”In their wordsThe Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (2024)Read the whole statement

2023National Humanities MedalAward2022“I can’t think of a single scientific study in the last few decades that has demonstrated that plants or animals are dumber than we think. It’s always the opposite, right?”In their wordsOn Being podcast (2022)Read the whole statement

“it delights me that I can be learning an ancient language by completely modern technologies, sitting at my office, eating lunch, learning Potawatomi grammar.”In their wordsOn Being podcast (2022)Read the whole statement

“Why is the world so beautiful? is a question that we all ought to be embracing.”In their wordsOn Being podcast (2022)Read the whole statement

MacArthur Fellows ProgramAward2005John Burroughs MedalAward1953Born

Also in Deutsch

Media & music

Photos 3

Rainforest moss

Kimmerer's grandfather attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

In their own words 4

Robin Wall Kimmerer

4 statements, newest first

If the Sun is the source of flow in the economy of nature, what is the "Sun" of a human gift economy, the source that constantly replenishes the flow of gifts? Maybe it is love.
2024 · The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (2024), Own words
gift economies arise from the abundance of gifts from the Earth, which are owned by no one and therefore shared.
2024 · The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (2024), Own words
in a sense, the questions that I had about who I was in the world, what the world was like, those are questions that I really wished I’d had a cultural elder to ask; but I didn’t.
2022 · On Being podcast (2022), Own words