Francesca Maximé and Sandor Iron Rope talk about the need for mindfulness and awareness around the use of sacred plant medicine in the psychedelic decriminalization movement.
Sandor Iron Rope is the President of the Native American Church of South Dakota, and also a board member of the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative. Learn more about and donate to the IPCI at ipci.life.
Sacred Plant Medicine
Francesca asks Sandor how we can avoid further exploitation of sacred plant medicine, such as peyote, during the psychedelic decriminalization movement. Sandor talks about the need to have awareness and mindfulness around using these powerful medicines. He shares how his people have struggled to protect this medicine, and how the decriminalization effort has lost the sense of respect it needs in an attempt to move too quickly.
“It’s been a battle since day one to protect our medicine, and grandmas and grandpas have been jailed for utilizing this medicine, peyote. They have been jailed for even practicing our way of life. Now, when you come and understand that history, you can understand a little bit of why we don’t want our peyote in this decriminalization movement, because it’s bio-cultural.” – Sandor Iron Rope
Ram Dass talks about understanding the risks and rewards of using psychedelics on Here and Now Ep. 183
Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (20:15)
Sandor explains how his organization, the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative, has allowed reconnection, regeneration, and conservation of the sacred peyote medicine. They are also teaching their children about the spiritual harvest of the medicine, ensuring the knowledge is passed on. Francesca talks about the short-term thinking of Western culture.
“Everything is about the transfer of energy. Energy is moving, energy exists in all things. Positive and negative energy exists. And when we generate this prayer through positive energy, we are creating this aura, this spiritual aura of energy. And we are projecting the energy upon our medicine, and we are asking it something to help us with. That has been missing.” – Sandor Iron Rope
Balance and Sustainability (33:55)
Sandor brings up his other project, the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund. He shares how we all need to be aware of our surroundings and our energy in order to really heal. Francesca and Sandor talk about the role of medicine people in the spiritual harvest of sacred plant medicine. They end by touching on how balance and sustainability can help heal the world.
“We have to want to heal… If we think we don’t need healing, we’re fooling ourselves.” – Sandor Iron Rope
Raghu Markus and Tyson Yunkaporta discuss how Indigenous wisdom can help us change the world for the better in Mindrolling Ep. 341
