Indigenous Sovereignty & Plant Medicine

A talk by Wade Davis, Kim Haxton, Trevor Mack and Jazmin Pirozek

I believe Indigenous Sovereignty means the protection, management, and right to honor the very places in which we receive our Tsilhqot'in identity from.

As was told to me by Gilbert "Nalbas" Solomon, which was told by his ʔaba Henry Solomon, Tsilhqot'in means "People of the Glacier Rock River". This means, every person who identifies as Tsilhqot'in speaking has the right to honor and experience where we get our name from; the glaciers that birth our rivers.

The majority of the water that flows through our nation is birthed from the glaciers at the south end of Tsilhqox Biny. What can bring together our nation and our communities could be a massive ceremonial infrastructure push to get our next generation out towards where these gigantic glaciers live.

Imagine a future where sweat, medicine and traditional ceremonies take place at the foot of the glaciers that replenish and feed all of the living animals and plant life within our territories.

Psychedelics will become a mainstream antidote to current diseases like depression, anxiety, stress and other disorders within the next 5-10 years. Fortunately, Indigenous peoples from the north and south have utilized these sacred experiences through plant medicines in order to directly communicate and experience Gudish Nitsilʔin (Creator) and various plant and animal spirits.

A new ceremony has been created within our nation with the combination of our traditional songs and dances and sacred plant medicines like psilocybin mushrooms and yopo.

As an Indigenous Advisor for the Canadian Psychedelic Association, I look forward to a bright future where more of our people have the right to honor and give gratitude to the very places our identity is created, and at the same time, heal the trauma of the past, and create new visions for the future.

Nexwesechanalyagh,