The “sweatlodge” ceremony should never be performed by anyone other than a Native American shaman, or authentic Medicine Man, Woman, or Healer who has been trained and commissioned to do so by their Indigenous cultural Tradition. The sweatlodge ceremony (Inipi Ceremony) is actually one of the Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota People and has been passed down through many generations of Lakota. This ceremony is not taught to non-Native Americans nor should they be leading these ceremonies. Authentic Indigenous healers who have inherited and maintained these sacred traditions have issued formal statements about the standards to be observed in the celebration of the Inipi Ceremony. In the March 2003 Meeting of Elders, it was agreed among the spiritual leaders and Bundle-Keepers of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, Cheyenne and Arapahoe Nations that those who perform this sacred rite should be able to communicate with Tunkashilas (Grandfathers) in their Native Plains languages. They should also have earned this right by completing the Hanblecheyapi Ceremony (Vision Quest) and participated in the the four days and four years of the Wiwanyangwacipi Ceremony (the Sun Dance). At the Lakota Summit V, an international gathering of United States and Canadian Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations, 500 representatives from over 40 different tribes and bands of the Lakota unanimously passed a “Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality.” This Declaration was passed on June 10, 1993. This Declaration specifies that these sacred ceremonies are only to be performed by authentic medicine people and healers of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota and other authentic Native American tribes. Non-Native Americans have no right whatsoever to perform these sacred rites any more than a non-priest has a right to celebrate the Mass or the Divine Liturgy. Everything has been stolen from the Native American peoples. Now, even their sacred ceremonies and rites are being stolen. What happened in this tragic situation is an example of what happens when New-Age charlatans “steal” sacred Indigenous rites which are not theirs and which they have no legitimate right to perform. Thank you for listening to my concerns.
Respectfully,

Dean Leh, M.A., M.S.Ed.

May I humbly but firmly add that this is one example of how in the Western world we have chosen to take sacred rituals and turn them simply into commercial ventures. This also applies to the many yogas that are now being touted and the people who mix yoga and stretching and other sporting activtiies in an attempt to sell something. Research the original Yoga and you will learn it was not designed to be a stretching class but rather a spiritual experience and practice.

As I mentioned in the above interview and to which I would like to add now, this entire saga raises the questions surrounding the movie and book, “The Secret.” James Arthur Ray is one of the featured speakers and “gurus” in the book and movie “The Secret” which teaches that based on the Law of Attraction we create our own reality and we do so by what we focus on i.e. we attract to us those things we focus on, and we can have anything we want simply by visualizing it. Based on that belief and argument, the very belief and teaching of James Ray, what was James Ray focusing on and visualizing to attract this event into his life?

In other words, this is where the Law of Attraction fails and is quickly torn apart, there is much more involved in creating our reality and world than simply visualizing or fantasizing about something…otherwise we must conclude that James Ray was visualizing daily his appearance in court charged with 3 counts of manslaughter…