We felt it necessary to include a page on the “hot button” issue of cultural appropriation of Native American traditions. We receive many emails, and have seen many posts online, questioning, and even going so far as to accuse our Church of being guilty of “thievery” by offering Ayahuasca and San Pedro ceremonies We find such accusations to be both unfair and intentionally inflammatory – we feel that it falsely lays claims of “intellectual property rights,” to plants and traditions that we know in our hearts are gifts to all of humanity, not just to a particular group or race.
We understand that these Sacred Plant Medicines, Sacraments, and Ceremonies have been guarded and protected by elders and ancestors who we honor and revere. Yet we believe that they are not “owned” by any given people, but rather come straight from Mother Earth, Pachamama, herself. We honor these cultures and traditions who have worked with these plants for millennia. Yet we do not follow the strict dictates of any particular tradition. Having been inducted into the Oklevueha Native American Church (ONAC) through the blessing of Elder James Flaming Eagle Mooney, we feel confident that we are operating in alignment with the Great Spirit, and the will of Mother Earth, Madre Ayahuasca, and Father San Pedro.
We believe strongly in the message that Leslie Fool Bull, former President of the N.A.C. Rosebud S.D. passed on to James Flaming Eagle Mooney when he said, “Take this Medicine to the White Man.”
We work, therefore, hand-in-hand with the ONAC Council of Elders, to make sure that every aspect of our organization, our ceremonies, our offerings, are in alignment with the greater ONAC vision. The main goal of ONAC, and thus in turn Ayahuasca Healings, is to heal the two-legged beings that walk the Earth, through sacred ceremony and sacred plant medicine.
We find it regrettable that some individuals feel the need to use the issue of race as an excuse to block and limit the sacred, sincere use of Plant Medicines in a religious context. After all, it is these ceremonies, and the medicines that are central to them, that have shown so clearly to those of us touched by them, how we are all one. That has shown us how race is just one of many illusions created by the matrix, and as long as one holds on tightly to such differences, one cannot transcend beyond and truly heal the centuries of suffering endured by Indigenous and other persecuted peoples. We are constantly dedicated toward improving relations with and honoring Native traditions, and are working hand-in-hand with the Oklevueha Native American Church to assure that we are in alignment with Native American traditions and values.
With SO much love, committed to love, healing & awakening for us all,
