The Chumash people, for instance, who are native to central and southern coastal regions of California, use white sage in healing sessions to purify the central nervous system. Exploring the World of Knowledge and Understanding. The general act of smoke cleansing, however, is not inherently spiritual or specific to a certain culture in the way that smudging is. It's true: Indigenous people have been calling for the end of the commodification of sage for years, and its non-Native proponents always have an argument ready as to why it's not. Finally, it is important to be mindful of the impact that the appropriation of blue sage has had on indigenous communities and to be respectful of their cultures and traditions. As Pike notes, in the early 1990s Native Americans from several tribes began to express their rage at what they saw as cultural strip mining, the stealing and watering down of their culture and their spirituality, which they described as an extension of colonization that had stripped them of their original lands. The participants were also purified, with salt, water, smoke from a candle, incense or rosemary and a crystal or rock, symbolizing Mother Earth. Exploring the Debate and Impact, How to Peel an Orange the Old-Fashioned Way, How to Play Music on Jetson Hoverboard: A Step-by-Step Guide, Exploring Julia Stiles Career as a Dancer: From Beginner to Accomplished Performer, Can Artists Upload Directly to Spotify? Sage, sacred to Native Americans, is being used in purification rituals, raising issues of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation includes using customs, attire, makeup, ideas, art, and language. Its an important ceremonial purifying ritual or prayer created and practiced in many North American Indigenous cultures. Fears have also been raised that overharvesting could result in the plants becoming extinct, resulting in the extinction of the animals that are dependent on it as well. Just use your sage and that's it. Do you have knowledge or insights to share? It is important to remember that blue sage has a long history of use among certain tribes and should be respected as such. Cultural appropriation takes place when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way. Exclude from home page BNG staff. As Emily McFarlan Miller reported in a recent Religion News Service article, this is resulting in overharvesting and shortages of the plant, making it harder for Native Americans to find enough for their sacred ceremonies. Just use your sage and that's it. It was used because it was associated with Native American practice. Its about power.. This can include unauthorized use of another culture's. For many contemporary Pagans, Native American spirituality was a practice they wanted to emulate because of its connection to the land, to a spirit world, and because it predates Christianity and is native to the region. Some of the Pagan practitioners had received training from a Native American teacher. Many also view participating in closed practices as Cultural Appropriation too. It was used because it was associated with Native American practice. Cultural appropriation leads to a narrow look at other cultures and often exploitation of those cultures. ._3K2ydhts9_ES4s9UpcXqBi{display:block;padding:0 16px;width:100%} The plant sage, or Salvia, grows all around the world in different colors and variants. No, blue sage, white sage and any other sage is not cultural appropriation. Today, Native people are still fighting to be able to perform these ceremonies in hospitals. Cultural Appropriation Examples . You can also use white sage as long as if you bought it for a native, or a native gave it to you. But the way in which the idea was first. ._2a172ppKObqWfRHr8eWBKV{-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;margin-right:8px}._39-woRduNuowN7G4JTW4I8{margin-top:12px}._136QdRzXkGKNtSQ-h1fUru{display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;margin:8px 0;width:100%}.r51dfG6q3N-4exmkjHQg_{font-size:10px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.5px;line-height:12px;text-transform:uppercase;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center}.r51dfG6q3N-4exmkjHQg_,._2BnLYNBALzjH6p_ollJ-RF{display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex}._2BnLYNBALzjH6p_ollJ-RF{margin-left:auto}._1-25VxiIsZFVU88qFh-T8p{padding:0}._2nxyf8XcTi2UZsUInEAcPs._2nxyf8XcTi2UZsUInEAcPs{color:var(--newCommunityTheme-widgetColors-sidebarWidgetTextColor)} If you're not Indigenous and therefore hesitating to strike a match to cleanse the bad vibes out of your apartment, here's what you need to know about burning white sage. At Pagan ceremonies that I attended as a researcher, those leading the ritual would cut a sacred circle. Another is to research the traditional uses of blue sage and incorporate them into your own practices. Supporters of cultural appropriation argue that it is not inherently wrong to use elements of another culture, as long as it is done in a respectful way. More mainstream religions have buildings, such as churches or synagogues, where they maintain sanctuaries for religious purposes only. Different Native communities use different medicines for smudging depending on where they are from, and not every culture uses white sage or smudges. When it comes to blue sage, there is an argument that non-indigenous people are appropriating the plant by taking it out of its traditional context and using it for their own purposes. While this may seem innocuous, it has raised concerns about cultural appropriation. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Proudly powered by WordPress Within these religions nature is viewed as sacred, to be celebrated and protected. One example that Moody-Ramirez gave is when designers have models wear . Helen A. Berger is Affiliated Scholar at the Womens Studies Research Center, Brandeis University. Possibly more importantly, rituals are meant to open up the individual to the spiritual or other world. As Pagans pride themselves on being sensitive to practices of diverse cultures, most quickly gave up the use of sage; the use of other Native American artifacts in Pagan practices became less common as well. Other types of sage are completely okay! An imbalance of power between the appropriator and the appropriated is a critical condition of the concept. In some of the rituals participants were already standing in the circle when this part of the ritual was done; in others they entered afterward. The demand has become so great that many Chumash people (of what is now Southern California) are concerned that the plant is being overharvested. Smudging sage was part of those banned religious practices. Cultural appropriation or cultural celebration? Cultural appropriation is the adoption of certain elements from another culture without the consent of people who belong to that culture. They argue that by taking something that is sacred to them and using it for their own purposes, non-indigenous people are erasing their culture and traditions. For Hopkins, the appropriation of white sage is made worse because the plant is often not being harvested correctly. Traditional dress and eagles feathers were two other examples of commonly appropriated items. In this article, we will explore the history of blue sage, examine how it has been appropriated, investigate the impact of its cultural appropriation, analyze the debate surrounding its use, explain the benefits of adopting it respectfully, identify alternatives to using blue sage without cultural appropriation, and investigate how to balance respect for culture with enjoyment of blue sage. /*# sourceMappingURL=https://www.redditstatic.com/desktop2x/chunkCSS/TopicLinksContainer.3b33fc17a17cec1345d4_.css.map*/Been looking into this quite a lot recently but havent found too many answers on other types of sage. It is now being more widely marketed by stores such as Walmart and Anthropologie. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. In fact, before smudging was popularized, it was illegal at least, for Indigenous folks and often violently suppressed. Blue sage is a member of the Mint family (Lamiaceae). New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. White sage, which is sacred to a number of Native American tribes in the southwest United States, has been adopted by both some contemporary Pagans and New Age practitioners for purification rites. Why does it matter what YOU'RE fine with? It has become common, for example, for younger Americans to cleanse their homes of bad spirits with white sage even if they do not identify as Pagans. That may include educating yourself and others about white sage, appropriation, and smoke cleansing; harvesting your own sage or other herbs sustainably; contacting brands to ask them to stop selling white sage without giving due to Native cultures; or using other plants entirely. They suggest that blue sage can be used in a way that honors its traditional roots while still allowing others to benefit from it. A Comprehensive Review. Is this the society we re living in? As Keene explains, overharvesting white sage in addition to the threat of increased wildfires and urban development endangers Indigenous peoples ability to access and use the wild plant in the ways they and their ancestors have done for thousands of years. As a sociologist of religion who has studied contemporary Paganism for more than 30 years, I am aware of how important both contact with the spirit world and purification are in this religion. From a historical perspective, the term that is typically used to describe the adoption of certain . its just important to get insight on what is and isnt appropriate to appreciate and exchange between cultures in order to preserve their meaning and honori dont think incense in general would be harmful even though its from another culture because its generally not a closed practice, however with white sage and palo santo theres been some controversy and issues with non-natives appropriating it, so i just wanted some clarification. Helen A. 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