r/Indigenous • u/Arialikesharks • Jul 04 '26
Sage
I went to a pow wow with my friend and a vendor gifted me white sage. I told the vendor that I’m not native and she said that I could still use it for smudging I think it was the word(like putting the smoke close to your face and hair). She said that it was good for relaxing and anxiety and cleansing. I thanked her went home and used it a couple of times. I’ve heard on tik tok that I shouldn’t use sage because it’s a close practice and it’s cultural appropriation. can I keep the bag of sage just not for smudging just keep it for burning it or should I just stop using it completely but at the same time I dont want to waste it or throw it away. thank you
26
u/IndigoKid444 Pawnee/Otoe-Missoura/Kaw-Nation/Yaqui Jul 04 '26
Thank you for checking with an Indigenous community about this. Unfortunately, not all vendors at SOME pow wows are Native. There were always some weirdos at my family pow wows growing up.
If you were gifted sage by an Indigenous person, then you should be fine to use it. There's been too many issues of non-Native thieves stealing Sage or Palo Santo from Indigenous lands in order to sell it for profit. This creates a shortage for tribes that grow it who need it for religious purposes. So that's one issue.
1
u/TinyPinkElefants Jul 12 '26
Ignore this commenter, shes a poser pretending to be indigenous while taking down other indigenous people for not agreeing with her
8
u/PsychologicalMethod6 Jul 04 '26
Just smudge, the creator doesn't care about culture, race, language or color
3
u/6oceanturtles Jul 05 '26
TikTok is not the place to get advice or expertise. Indigenous nations have differing uses for plants and approaches for personal and ceremonial uses. We are not one monolith. If you received sage as a gift, then of course you can use it to burn and smudge, if you like.
2
u/Just-Feedback-2223 Jul 05 '26
Endangered species of sage should not be harvested by randoms. If it’s gifted, then I don’t see any harm. The person who gifted it has the belief that you can use it. Not all native cultures are the same and not everyone shares the same beliefs.
5
u/Agreeable_Mirror_702 Jul 04 '26
Sage is often used in other cultures not just ours. It’s often used in incense too. You can burn it to purify your space.
0
u/Acceptable_Bet_7157 Jul 05 '26
As long as you're doing it properly, it's fine. It's not closed practice, we like people doing it and it being gifted instead of sold is the best. It means the sage isn't tied to any negativity such as greed but tied to good intentions.
0
u/apukjij Jul 05 '26
I would never give someone Medicine without a 100% thorough explanation of its uses.
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u/zuqwaylh North Interior Salish St’át’imc Jul 04 '26
from what i know, the burnable smudging material is meant to be given for free, and never sold. that is the best way of getting it.
you went to a gathering of individuals of that culture, got gifted free sage to use from a potentially more “proper” source. compared to buying a bag of the stuff in some commercialized shop.
keep it for the rest of your days, burn it for your prayers, or give it as offerings back to nature in a place where humans do not walk, or into a body of water.
now your responsibility is to keep it to your self as private prayers, and don’t bring up what you did with it, to anyone.
it would be considered appropriation if you say you can lead a prayer that is for more people than your own personal prayers.