Spiritual growth is undoubtedly a good thing, but many Native Americans are troubled by the beauty and wellness industry’s marketing of practices and items associated with their prayer rituals. There are more than 500 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States that burn a wide variety of dried plants for smudging practices. The plants incorporated into smudging are usually harvested on their lands. California tribes use white sage or salvia apiana, which is native to the region. It’s the plant most popular for smudging among non-Native people. Overharvesting by wildcrafters for sale to retail chain stores and brands is threatening the survival of white sage. Although not listed as an endangered species, it’s considered to be a plant of special concern by conservationists and illegal to harvest from public lands. “This is a medicine for many of our people who have used these plants since time immemorial as central elements of our spirituality and healing. They are having trouble finding sage because of fires and overharvesting,” says Elicia Goodsoldier of the Dine’ and Spirit Lake Dakota Nations. Native Americans are pushing back against beauty and wellness companies, and challenging what they describe as wanton cultural appropriation by non-Natives eager for a quick fix to the “dis-ease” associated with tech-heavy lives. Retail stores Sephora and Anthropologie pulled products containing white sage, specifically the Starter Witch Kit and Home Blessings Smudge Kit, from shelves after Native Americans and witches launched campaigns accusing the companies of cultural appropriation. For Native peoples, the impact of the uninvited application of their cultural practices cuts deeply. Although non-Natives may be unaware of wrongdoing, the adoption of smudging is another in a long line of colonial predation of Native nations that have seen nearly everything—their lands, languages and cultures—taken from them in the name of progress and civilization. Worse is the cavalier manner in which rituals are stripped of protocol and community. For Natives, it’s the final insult and a sign of disrespect to see their practices tossed into the great blender of upscale trendiness.
Read More on the Story
Mary Annette Pember:
Native Americans Troubled By The Appropriation And Commoditization Of Smudging
(Beauty Independent May 29, 2019)
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