COMING SOON
Sacred Medicines: Connecting the Wisdom of Indigenous Healers with Western Hearts
Conference in collaboration with Flourish Fellow Dr. Sandra M. Pacheco, Sunflower Sutras, and the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics
About
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While the Indigenous communities that safeguarded entheogenic knowledge still suffer from the consequences of colonialism, the west creates miraculous new therapies and huge profits from the traditions it tried to eradicate through conquest for the past 500 years. Due to its central role in this psychedelic renaissance, Berkeley is uniquely suited to reorient the psychedelic movement, to embrace its shadow, and center the voices of Indigenous communities so we may envision a healing and restorative path forward.
This conference will serve as an opportunity for elders, scholars, and practitioners to collectively envision a respectful future for the psychedelic movement, in which honoring and remembering ancestral traditions serves as a guide to disrupt the problematic psychedelic history of commodification, appropriation, and extractive research. Indigenous elders will guide this unique ceremonial conference sharing practices and perspectives that help us reestablish our ancestral and nature-based relationship with the medicine.
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We are deeply grateful to the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, the Center for Interdisciplinary Critical Inquiry (CICI), and the Flourish Trust for opening up the Society and Culture Grant and allocating resources to bring this project to life.
When? ​
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April 2025
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Where?​
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University of California, Berkeley
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Who is eligible to participate?
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People of color who have been working directly with plant medicines for more than 5 years in service to their greater communities will be given first priority.
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Whether you a psychedelic therapist in training, a student of a respected elder, a researcher investigating psychedelics and traditional knowledge, or a university or graduate student who has been on the path of connecting with your ancestral knowledge and working towards integrating this knowledge into your work, this conference is for you.​​​
How can I stay updated on this event?
​An application to attend this conference will be released in January 2025. If you would like to be contacted when the conference application is released, let us know by sending an email to hello@sunflowersutras.org.
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You can also stay in the loop by following our social media on instagram @sunflower.sutras, as we will be posting conference updates and details of interest to the general public in the coming months.
