Hi Everyone, this is Sage Maurer here! I understand how important a forum like this is. It looks like the forum was looking for folks in this category to address any of their appropriation here, so I'll share what I can. I know cultural appropriation has been a part of white American herbalism and new age spirituality for such a long time. I hope to be a part of the change, and have been creating handouts, resources, and workshops on cultural appropriation and social justice for the last few years. I have removed books from my booklists, and talked about issues of appropriation in Eliot Cowan’s teachings and others. I teach herbalism from the perspective of science as well working the the plants as conscious beings... along with a blend of earth based spirituality, ethnobotany, and growing/harvesting medicinal plants. I know all of these things are filled with a long history and continued appropriation and colonization/white supremacy.
My traditions come from roots in Ireland and the UK, and have been careful not to use any Native American practices in my classes, including any appropriated rituals, words, songs, or practices- other than burning white sage and sweetgrass... which I now only do with also talking about cultural appropriation, colonization, and our impacts on both the plants and people these plants are sacred to. Sweetgrass is also sacred to different European lineages, so we talk about that now as well.
I have been one to never say the word ‘aho’, or use indigenous language, songs, or practices that I know does not belong to me. I have seen many white folx do this for many years and it bothered me, but I didn’t understand the depth of the appropriation happening often. It took some years of listening to indigenous voices to understand the harm and stealing sacred practices that had been going on in gatherings/herbal conferences, etc.
I stopped using the term shamanism widely because of the issues of appropriation, though my ancestral traditions did also include what is broadly labeled in academia as "shamanic practices". I studied anthropology, ethnobotany, the history of shamanism around the world, as well as traditional "shamanic" plant use by various cultures (including my ancestral lineages in Ireland & UK) at University. I know these many traditions and practices cannot be lumped together, even if they share some traits in their practice.
We do not incorporate specific indigenous traditions into classes, though I do share some ancient traditions that have Celtic roots. I encourage students to create their own rituals, offerings to the earth, spirits, their ancestors, etc.
We do use frame drums in some classes - I use the remo synthetic drums, and have talked with students about using drums that are either non-specific to one culture/tradition, or choosing a drum that is connected to their lineage (ex. I use a traditional Irish frame drum and flute). Frame drumming is important in Europe, Asia, and Africa as well as a ceremonial practice, and I have students from so many different ancestral lineages I want to invite any consciousness shifting tools such as the drum into their practice - especially those sacred to their lineages.
I teach students to find their own roots, and remember a lot of these practices that were shared by all our ancestors/lineages - such as prayer, communicating with nature spirits, making offerings, calling in loving ancestors etc. We create our own rituals, and have been careful not to use any appropriated practices. (White sage, sweetgrass, copal, tobacco etc. we talk about appropriation. Since I was 14 and began studying Celtic pagan traditions and ceremonial plant use, I knew not to use plants like tobacco because of its sacred relationship to Native Americans).
The term 'medicine wheel' I came to understand is very appropriative, though the practices I have been teaching are not - so I stopped using the term 'medicine wheel' and have taught my students for the past few years how the term ‘medicine wheel’ is appropriation. I use the term ‘sacred wheel' or ‘council circle’ or ‘sacred circle’ now, and explain the difference in what I practice and teach. What I teach is based on the wheel of the year in Celtic pagan traditions of Ireland and the UK, which includes honouring the solstices, equinoxes, and the Celtic holy days such as Beltane and Samhain, as well as working with the 4 elements, cycles of life, death, ancestors, and other realms. I have never received training in specific Native American traditions around their medicine wheel, which belong to specific tribes, or used their teachings. I have only ever taught these Celtic wheel teachings.
We work with stone circles similar to the thousands of stone circles in Ireland and the UK, which are set to the solstices and equinoxes, as a ritual site to call in loving ancestors, and connect with spirit allies such as animals and plants. We also work with the wheel as a gathering place, as my ancestors did, and a center for offerings, prayer, and communication with helping spirits. We work with the moon phases, Celtic sacred trees, and sacred plants of these traditions used for consciousness shifting. These are traditions deeply rooted in my ancestry, and something I have been reclaiming for 20+ years. I try to encourage students to reach into their own ancestral lineages, and welcome in guidance from their ancestor’s teachings and traditions. This helps prevent appropriation, or the desire to join in the traditions of another culture in favor of your own rich history/lineage. I have students from lineages all of the world, so there isn’t one way of praying or creating ceremony that we use… we just create sacred space together through the methods used common to all our ancestors (music, prayer, song, incense, offerings, drinking tea etc.), where we can connect with the spirits of the earth together. I encourage students to share what their family or ancestors practiced, and if they like incorporate that back into their lives.
I have incorporated plants from other traditions when I teach that I have studied and worked with for many years, such as a plant like ashwagandha or cacao, because I have students from so many backgrounds and countries... but with many plants there is appropriation that happens. So we talk about the issues of both cultural appropriation and the impact on the plants themselves, ecosystems, and indigenous communities. I am still learning how to share about plants not of my lineage, while trying to include plants that are a part of all of my student's ancestral lineages. Even if I have studied them for many years and worked with the spirits of these plants for 20+ years, I know appropriation has been a huge part of American herbalism. I have been working to be a part of changing this, on social justice boards, and in my classes, writing, and handouts - but I’m always learning.
Since understanding some years ago that there is appropriation happening in core shamanism (which I never studied or practiced), I removed those books from recommended readings, and am still learning more about the erasure and appropriation involved there. I know many of the folks who teach “core shamanism” are pulling from European roots of practice as well, so it seems like a mix of appropriation and ancestral practice belonging to their European roots. “Core shamanism” teachings were never what I have taught or practiced. I have never taught or used the term/practice of “sole retrieval”, or followed the specific practices of core shamanism. I did once have the books included as options for students to read, but none of what I taught was based on these books - I just couldn't find many other options of books for students to read on the subject of working with the spirit realms. I still teach what I think of as “shamanic” practices (methods of altering consciousness to communicate with earth spirits and ancestors to bring healing/medicine/guidance), but I do not use the term “shamanism” anymore because of the issues around appropriation. And I’ve never called myself a shaman or had anyone refer to me with that term.
I appreciate any dialogue and feel strongly about not contributing to continued harm, erasure, and appropriation. I will keep teaching about the issues of cultural appropriation, why I stopped using the terms “smudging”, “medicine wheel”, and “shamanism” - helping students understand how American herbalism and new age spirituality involved a lot of appropriation, and still does… and how we can be a part of changing this through what we raise awareness around, and the terms we choose not to use anymore.
I know for many people with European roots we struggle with not having our ancestral traditions of “shamanism” recognized as a part of the shamanism practiced all over the world. (I know this term has been applied widely mostly through academia that then became a popular term). Many of us are trying to salvage what we can of our ancestral earth-based spiritual practices. I hope to keep supporting students in finding their ancestral earth-based traditions, without using anything that does not belong to us. I certainly wish I had not used the term 'medicine wheel' in the past, and regret any harm this caused.
