1/6/2024 0 Comments Sage burningThe demand has become so great that many Chumash people (of what is now Southern California) are concerned that the plant is being overharvested. Thanks to the recent trendiness of smudging, white sage is in high demand. Instead, advocates say non-Native people can learn to cleanse their spaces in ways that are culturally and ecologically sensitive. “So when our religious practices are mocked through these products, or folks are commodifying and making money off our ceremonies, it’s not about who has the ‘right’ to buy or sell. It represents a continuing legacy of marginalizing and punishing Native spirituality,” says Keene. “That smudge stick represents the deep pain, sacrifice, resistance, and refusal of Native peoples. Adrienne Keene, an assistant professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies at Brown University, author of the blog Native Appropriations, and citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The practice of smudging, therefore, should not be taken lightly, according to Dr. Today, Native people are still fighting to be able to perform these ceremonies in hospitals.īecause of all that complicated history of sage burning, when non-Native people use white sage to "smudge" their homes or other spaces, it infringes upon the cultural importance and authenticity of the ritual and prayer - simply, it’s cultural appropriation. Smudging sage was part of those banned religious practices. “It was illegal for Natives to practice their religion until 1978 in the U.S., and many were jailed and killed just for keeping our ways alive, including my great-great grandfather,” Ruth Hopkins, a Dakota/Lakota Sioux writer, tells Bustle. ![]() In fact, before smudging was popularized, it was illegal - at least, for Indigenous folks - and often violently suppressed. The practice has a long and rich history that extends way before white witchy practices brought it onto Instagram feeds near you. Different Native communities use different medicines for smudging depending on where they are from, and not every culture uses white sage or smudges. And it doesn’t specifically refer to the burning of white sage, either. It’s an important ceremonial purifying ritual or prayer created and practiced in many North American Indigenous cultures. 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. Wondering whether burning sage is cultural appropriation is a fair question - long story short, burning sage is problematic for a few reasons, the biggest being cultural insensitivity and environmental unsustainability. 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. It’s also a sacred herb to several Indigenous communities, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Navajo. ![]() Though not the only sage native to North America, white sage is by far the one most frequently used and sold by the wellness industry. White sage grows naturally in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico and is particularly found along the coast of Southern California and in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. However, what most people are referring to when they talk about the popularized practice of smudging is white sage (Salvia apiana). Culinary sage (the kind you use in butternut squash and roasted chicken dishes), also known as garden sage, originally comes from the shores of the northern Mediterranean region. The plant sage, or Salvia, grows all around the world in different colors and variants. But if you tend to poke around smoke cleansing social media circles, you've probably heard people ask (and might be wondering yourself): Is burning sage and smudging cultural appropriation? Smudging, also known as saging, has become a trendy wellness practice that folks use to cleanse their spaces - be it a bedroom, an entire home, or even a car. The past few years have certainly left many folks with the desire to rid their homes of negative energy.
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