Indigenous Spiritualities: cultural appropriation or the last salvation?

Abstract: In this paper, I analyze how Indigenous spiritualities are transforming non-indigenous realities. I investigate the way non-indigenous people are using them to overcome health issues (i.e. depression), but also how they are being commodified for other uses without the proper respect. This implies that they can be harmful to the people who adopt them as practice, but also to Indigenous their selves that may be subject of what I call spiritual commodification. I look at the Huni Kuin and Yawanawá cases to discuss cultural appropriation and understand if the Indigenous spiritual awakening is just another form of commodification or a sacred key to our own transformation.

Presenter bio: Dr. Maria Fernanda Gebara is a writer and anthropologist whose research considers the Amazon as a site where nature, culture, politics, and spirituality are enmeshed. She has been analyzing the challenges to anthropocentric attitudes from diverse perspectives, investigating local traditions and practices to understand alternative configurations between human and other- than-human beings.

Presenter affiliation: Independent scholar