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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did the author live while in graduate school?

2. Who is described as "our oldest Grandmother" in the Onondaga address?

3. What does the author say the word for sweetgrass is in her people's language in the Preface?

4. What is the address called that the children recite at the Onondaga school described by the author in "Allegiance to Gratitude"?

5. Who wrote the book Grandmothers of the Light?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe sweetgrass in relation to gifts?

2. What is the predominant theme in Tending Sweetgrass?

3. What is significant about the narrative style in "Witch Hazel"?

4. How does the concept of gift-giving differ between viewpoints of a private property economy and a gift economy?

5. How did the U.S. government go about enlisting Native American children in schools aimed at assimilation? What were the impacts of this process?

6. Who is described collecting pecans in “The Council of Pecans”? What is the importance of this story?

7. What is significant about the production of harvests among pecan trees?

8. What morning ritual does the author describe her father performing in "An Offering"?

9. Trace the relocations of the author's ancestors. Where did they originate and where are they now?

10. What did the author discover when she returned home in "The Consolation of Water Lilies"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the themes of immigration and naturalization among humans, plants, and animals in Braiding Sweetgrass. What does immigration mean in this regard? What does naturalization mean? In whose footsteps should we follow? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the meaning of maple trees for the author and her people. What do maple trees represent? How do their actions influence humankind? How might we learn from maple trees?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the stories of Nanabozho from Braiding Sweetgrass. Who is Nanabozho? What morals are gleaned from his stories? What does Nanabozho represent to the author's people and how is he seen today?

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