Before I speak on this Chapter in this blog post, I do want to formention that I struggled with this chapter. The comparison at the start of this chapter did not sit right with me, but I understand what she is trying to get at and say. I am adding a quote that I must remember from this chapter and will explain it more in my reflection, “If grief can be a doorway to love, then let us all weep for the world we are breaking apart so we can love it back to wholeness again.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer.

My Summary Of The Chapter

In this chapter, Robin Wall Kimmerer intertwines two seemingly unrelated tragedies, the U.S. bombing of Baghdad at the start of the Iraq War, and the mass death of migrating salamanders crushed by cars on a wet road near her home. As Kimmerer and her daughters rush to rescue the amphibians, a news report uses the sterile military euphemism “collateral damage” to describe civilian casualties in Iraq, prompting her to recognize the same pattern of “acceptable” loss in both scenarios.

Now, here is a quick AI summary of the chapter:

• The Euphemism of Distance: Kimmerer argues that terms like “collateral damage” are linguistic tools designed to keep us emotionally detached from the real suffering our choices cause, whether it’s human lives lost in war or salamanders killed by our cars.
• The Oil Connection: She draws a direct line between the two tragedies: our addiction to fossil fuels powers the cars killing the salamanders and drives the geopolitical conflicts over oil that lead to war.
• Scientific vs. Indigenous Ethics: The chapter highlights an ethical dilemma for the student researchers studying the salamanders: by rescuing some, they are inadvertently biasing their data, making the dead salamanders “necessary” sacrifices for future conservation—a utilitarian calculation that clashes with the Indigenous ethic of gratitude and responsibility for every life.

Personal Reflection

To me, reading “Collateral Damage” feels like having a quiet, uncomfortable mirror held up to modern life. Kimmerer doesn’t scold us, but instead, she invites us to feel the weight of our own complicity. It’s easy to watch war footage and feel helpless, or to drive down a rainy road without noticing the small lives beneath our tires. But she refuses to let us look away. And I think this is why I struggle with the comparison. It hard to not just look away when it isn’t happening to you, and let me tell you, that is a hard realization. In a culture that often numbs pain with distractions or euphemisms, she suggests that we must actually feel the sorrow for what we’re breaking, the salamanders, the people in distant lands, the web of life itself, if we ever hope to heal it. This chapter challenges us to move beyond passive concern and recognize that our everyday conveniences are woven into systems of destruction.

Questions I Have For You

• What are we willing to call “collateral damage” in our own lives?
• How might we change our path so that fewer lives are lost along the way? 

It’s a call to braiding gratitude with action, to let our tears water the seeds of a more responsible way of living. “If grief can be a doorway to love, then let us all weep for the world we are breaking apart so we can love it back to wholeness again.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer. This chapter is a profound reminder that true sustainability isn’t just about technology or policy, it’s about reclaiming our capacity to care deeply enough to make a change.

Curricular Connections:

It is my understanding that this chapter is one of the only ones removed in the “Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults.” Book. But, I believe there is a space in the curriculum that this chapter ties into. Collateral Damage aligns several core competencies and big ideas in the BC Curriculum, mainly in English, Science, and Social Studies. It is also a great way to incorporate the FPPL.