The Indigenous people of North America, Canada, Australia, Amazonia, and the Arctic have requested that New Agers and Shamanic Practitioners cease appropriating their ceremonies, rituals, and symbolic paraphernalia. There is good reason for this request, which I will go into in detail later on in this post so that there is a detailed analysis and understanding of what appropriation is and what is acceptable to cultures, especially those which have been subject to colonialism and genocide.[1]
What if we were to stop for a moment and ask:
What Could We Learn From Indigenous people without being neocolonially appropriated, and perhaps we could share it back with them?
The answer would probably surprise most people. This is because they have a preconceived idea that most indigenous people live in the Stone Age, and that they might lose the luxury advantage that fossil fuel-based industrial capitalism gives them. But at the same time, industrial capitalism and conspicuous consumption leave us spiritually impoverished and in search of meaning in an increasingly isolating and meaningless world of work, consume, and die.
The Deep Ecology Movement and Earth First Appropriation of Indigenous wisdom without attribution is neocolonialism: “Gary Snyder is considered an ‘elder’ within the Deep Ecology movement. His Pulitzer Prize-winning book Turtle Island borrowed its title from a Native American name for North America. Snyder hoped to promote what he took to be native wisdom regarding the sacrality of the landscape, believing that ultimately all people are capable of becoming psychologically and spiritually Native American. During his most formative years, a Native American path was inaccessible to him, so he went to Japan to study Zen Buddhism, eventually calling himself ‘a practicing Buddhist, or Buddhist-shamanist’.”[2], If that sounds familiar: Celtic Shamanism is deeply influenced by Plum Village Zen Buddhism. I covered this topic here: Civilization Collapse: Do We Need to Evolve Before We Adapt? Or Will A Land-Based Spirituality Emerge As We Adapt?
“Snyder was subsequently criticized for ‘cultural imperialism in the adoption of the persona of a white shaman/healer’. He responded that shamanism is a universal cultural experience, is not ‘proprietary . . . to any one culture’, and is found everywhere throughout most of pre-history, not only among Native Americans.” [2] This should also sound familiar. This is exactly what anthropologist Michael Harner advocated in his book Core Shamanism.
“He (Snyder) argues that many Native American stories, like the trickster and the woman who married the Bear… are found all over the world. Nobody owns them. It’s only a lack of [a global] perspective that would make people think such things are their own property.”[2]
“I have previously labeled Earth First!’s religious orientation ‘primal spirituality’ because many within this subculture venerate and seek to learn from and emulate the world’s remaining indigenous cultures, especially those cultures unassimilated into the global market economy. They generally consider such cultures to be spiritually and ecologically wise. The desire of many deep ecologists to learn from indigenous cultures produces an impulse to borrow ritual practices.”[2]
“Everyone is Indigenous from somewhere.” Accidental Gods: “In Germany, I encountered another example of how activists may lay performative claim on indigeneity—an example that both blurs and challenges the more puritanical ideas about cultural appropriation that one can find among activists, and questions the limits of self-determination in auto-identification processes.”[2] English Fascists think they are indigenous English and regularly petition the UN for recognition.
I am acutely aware of my part in talking about what we can learn from indigenous peoples in the context of “projected anti-civilizational sentiments onto the life-making projects of indigenous peoples, who came to serve as a model for a life beyond capitalist civilization. Hence, activists’ interest in indigenous peoples’ resource struggles not only reflected their supposed promise of successful resistance to extractivism, but also—increasingly—entailed an imaginary of indigenous peoples as closer to nature, and an imitation of their life skills as the promise for surviving the climate catastrophe.”[2] Hence the cliche’d trope of “plucky humans roaming the post collapse landscape” “Some German activists were even laying performative claim on indigeneity.” [2] Not unlike those who promote Celts as Britain’s original indigenous people, when in actual fact they too were immigrants who arrived from Southern Europe during the Bronze Age collapse. Instead of shying away from these moments, upholding a false authority by shielding ourselves from these uncomfortable translations, we could instead consider them as productive forms of “ontological anarchy”
Corn!
Mexico’s lower house has constitutionally banned the planting of genetically modified (GM) corn. This move follows a prior ruling against Mexico’s GM corn restrictions, which were deemed scientifically unsubstantiated. The reform solidifies previous measures that protect native corn and traditional agriculture. This constitutional mandate aims to ensure biosafety and preserve Mexico’s biocultural heritage. https://www.agroberichtenbuitenland.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/03/21/mexico-approves-constitutional-ban-on-planting-genetically-modified-corn
In 2025, I experimented with growing corn following the Hopi method. I bought Heirloom Aztec Blue, White, and Red Corn and planted them in 2 lines:
- One line was planted like agricultural corn at a depth of 1-2 inches. It grew to about 6 feet tall, produced leggy roots at the base, and yielded only a few ears of corn.
- The other line was planted following the Hopi Method in 12-16-inch-deep holes in groups of 7-10 corn kernels. I dug down into the soil of my garden until I hit the damp, heavy clay. These corn plants were 8-10 feet tall and highly productive.
- I followed the Native Trio Method: Corn, Beans, and Squash (pumpkin) with the addition of the existing clover.
I noted with some surprise that the roots of the clover I plant and allow to colonize my vegetable plot have a vast root system with nodules that “fix” Nitrogen into the soil.
I had spent several years building a deep humus layer with wood chips, homemade compost, and certain wild weeds I collect just before they flower to mulch into my soil, importing trace elements into the soil from deep-rooted wild weed plants which draw up trace elements from the deep soil: Copper, selenium, zinc, and other micronutrients. I also ferment urea in straw to make a nitrogen-fast feed compost. This is a simple, accessible regenerative practice for most gardeners. Most tree surgeons are happy to give away woodchip. Also, Ramiel wood, and I have found that the fastest-to-decompose material in the garden is coppiced spring growth from Elder trees because those shoots are not woody and break down quickly. As soon as the corn was harvested, the stalks were cut directly onto the garden.
The deep purple Aztec corn was the only one to maintain a single colour on the ear. The Rhite Red and Yellow corns produced multicolored cobs, but the quality was consistent throughout, producing plump kernels I was able to grind into meal and flour. I added some of the flour to the bread flour and made an acceptable loaf. I made polenta and thickened a stew with it.
The by-product was this wand made from a Black Corn cob after the kernels were extracted. I was also able to make cordage from the husk. The Corn Silk has various medicinal properties: “Corn silk (Stigma maydis) is an important herb used traditionally by the Chinese and Native Americans to treat many diseases. It is also used as traditional medicine in many parts of the world such as Turkey, the United States, and France. Its potential antioxidant and healthcare applications as a diuretic agent, for reducing hyperglycemia, as an antidepressant, and for anti-fatigue use have been reported in several studies. Other uses of corn silk include teas and supplements to treat urinary-related problems. The potential use is very much related to the properties and mechanism of action of its plant’s bioactive constituents, such as flavonoids and terpenoids. As such, this review will cover research findings on the potential applications of corn silk in healthcare, including its phytochemical and pharmacological activities. In addition, the botanical description and its toxicological studies are also included.” Caution: It should be used under the direction of a qualified medical herbalist and avoided if pregnant. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6268265/
Permaculturists have promoted the Native Trio planting method for at least 30 years, with attribution.
The Native Wisdom Grift
Indigenous Perspectives on the New Age
“Hopi elders have repeatedly stated that outsider doomsday predictions misrepresent their teachings, which focus on living in balance (qatsi) rather than predicting exact cosmic calendar dates or destructive finales. What is clear is that the Hopi have remained loyal to their original covenant (their traditional teachings and their contract with the land). The Red and Blue Kachinas are white fabrications, exploitative and not rooted in any Hopi Traditions and teachings. “Robert Morning Sky, along with David Icke, Zecharia Sitchin, and Erich Von Däniken, are the creators of the world’s biggest money-grabbing fraud within ufology. They are all really wealthy men, and they have made millions off lying to people and brainwashing them with lies. This is the sad reality of ufology.” https://ufologyexposed.blogspot.com/2013/03/debunking-terra-papers-by-robert.html
“The indigenous experience of white exploitation continues today. The New Age has morphed into a whole new era of exploitation and theft: The Neoshaman, or Urban Shaman, will claim lineage, tradition, and permission, irrespective of whether any is given or not. They lay claim to prophecy while viewing it through a monolithic Judeo-Christian lens. Few realize that the Literary and Academic works by Mircea Eliade and the highly influential (though later controversial) books of Carlos Castaneda popularised the archetype of the shaman as a figure of ultimate wisdom, as did Michael Harner. Castaneda later admitted Don Juan was a fabrication. Harner invited Castaneda to speak at the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, starting a tradition that continues today of fraud shamans promoting other fraud shamans.” Koyaanisqatsi: Compound Hopi word meaning “life out of balance”
“Indigenous communities across the globe have been impacted by cultural appropriation. Sun dances from Native America are now ‘Self-exploration’ Workshops; Native Taiwanese tribal dances are performed for tourists rather than during their relevant spiritual festivals; and the Uluru Trek — a sacred site — has been stripped of its significance for tourists’ enjoyment. While some of this is done by the native populations, many of the cultures do not have a choice: it is either profit from cultural appropriation or let those outside your culture profit from the appropriation.” https://blogs.canterbury.ac.uk/sustainability/when-culture-becomes-commodity-explaining-cultural-appropriation/
Embercombe, The Children’s Fire: Another For-Profit Appropriation: Primarily for Well-Heeled White People
There is no conversation around Embercombe and the appropriation of indigenous wisdom for profit centers on a systemic critique of Western eco-retreats that commercialize traditional ecological and spiritual teachings. Critics and indigenous advocates argue that when non-indigenous organizations utilize indigenous narratives—such as Embercombe’s foundational “Children’s Fire” concept, which founder Mac Macartney credits to indigenous mentors—as core marketing and operational philosophies for high-priced personal growth programs, it doesn’t risk crossing the line from appreciation into exploitative cultural commodification. It has already crossed that line, and everyone trained at Embercomb will cross it too, because that is the model they have been subconsciously taught under.
It’s Only A Whistle, No, It’s Laziness and Cultural Appropriation
My wife told me that a friend was doing a Sundance as part of her training as a Shamanic Practitioner-healer and needed to make a whistle. It’s not something I have really ever done; whistle-making is one of those things, like spoon-making, that bushcraft trainers offer as part of a bushcraft/survival course. I often think it’s because they lack the actual experience to teach a proper survival course. I felt a bit put out. I made a few whistles as an example from Elder. I also looked into the cultural appropriation of Sundance. She came over for tea and seemed in a hurry; she wasn’t interested in learning anything. I asked if they would be piercing her flesh with sharpened sticks; she looked horrified. I questioned her about whether it was cultural appropriation; she gaslit me, trying to sow doubt about whether it was or wasn’t, and it felt disingenuous. Then said she didn’t have time to learn how to make a whistle. The whole thing makes me feel quite sick. I posted on FB about Plastic Shaman, and my wife said some of our friends might find it offensive. I told her how I felt about the whistle, and how her friend tried to gaslight me about the cultural appropriation. At that point, my wife said she agreed with me. She then said she understood why I wouldn’t talk about the EMDR Therapy I had had for PTSD when asked.
References
- 1. Appropriating the Didjeridu and the SweatLodge: New Age Baddies and Indigenous Victims? CHRISTINA WELCH https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537900120098147
- 2. Earthen Spirituality or Cultural Genocide?: Radical Environmentalism’s Appropriation of Native American Spirituality https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048721X96900421
- 3. Who Cares for the Land? Indigeneity and Radical Environmental Activism in Translation https://online.ucpress.edu/lalvc/article/1/4/105/109197/Who-Cares-for-the-Land-Indigeneity-and-Radical
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