Among our peoples, we say that the plants listen. The waters listen. The winds listen. And once in a while, a human being listens so closely, so lovingly, that the natural world speaks back through them.
Today, we lift our hands and offer our voices in celebration, as Robin Wall Kimmerer — a proud citizen of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation — is named to TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People of 2025” list.
Robin is a storyteller, a scientist, and a daughter of the land. Through her bestselling book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, she has woven together the ancient wisdom of our ancestors with the careful observations of modern science. In doing so, she has built a bridge between two ways of knowing — a bridge wide enough for all to walk across.
In our traditions, plants are not “resources” to be consumed. They are older relatives — teachers whose bodies and spirits sustain us. In her writing, Robin reminds the world that sweetgrass is not just something to be harvested; it is a sacred gift. Strawberries are not just food; they are the first fruits of forgiveness. Maple trees are not just providers of syrup; they are living calendars of the seasons, offering lessons in patience and generosity.
Without the machine of mass marketing, without the roar of industry behind her, Robin’s words traveled quietly — like the soft step of a deer through morning mist — and still they found millions of hearts. Just as the seeds of serviceberry find their way into the richest soil after a fire, her stories have taken root in a time of great environmental fear and spiritual hunger.
TIME Magazine, speaking of her impact, said it best: “Just as nature finds a way, Robin has found her devoted readers. And during a time of tremendous environmental fear and uncertainty, we have found, to our immeasurable relief, our master teacher.”
To our peoples, this recognition is not surprising. We have always known that those who walk humbly with the earth, who listen and give thanks, carry a medicine the world desperately needs.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is more than an author. She is a vessel for remembrance. She teaches what our grandmothers and grandfathers taught us — that to live is to be in a relationship of reciprocity, of gratitude, of deep respect for all living things.
Today, as the sun moves across the sky, we say:
Thank you, Robin. Thank you for reminding the world that the earth is alive, that the land has memory, and that healing begins with listening.
May your words continue to braid new paths forward — for the plants, for the people, for the generations still to come.
John Gonzalez
Standing Bear Network
