Crying for a Vision: The Native American Sweat Lodge Ceremony as Therapeutic Intervention

Abstract

The Native American sweat lodge ceremony or sweat therapy is being used increasingly in various medical, mental health, correctional, and substance abuse treatment centers serving both Native and non‐Native clients. This article explores the sweat lodge ceremony's background, elements of Native American spirituality, origin story, cultural symbolism, prayer, and contemporary use. Current evidence of effectiveness and therapeutic benefits is presented, then implications for integrating the sweat lodge ceremony as a complementary counseling approach are discussed.

Insights into the effective management of support groups for Aboriginal Australian women with substance use disorders

“…Most importantly, the women and staff interviewed see the group as being grounded in a distinctly socio-cultural context belonging to the women themselves. This is similar to group approaches used with indigenous individuals in residential rehabilitation in Australia (Berry, 2013;Chenhall, 2007) or in healing circles or sweat lodges in North America (Garrett et al, 2011;Stevenson, 1999;Vick et al, 1998). In the present study, this mixture of approaches appears to have enabled opportunities for learning in the group to be extended to cultural concepts, health facts, behaviour change, and getting earlier help for participants (e.g.…”

Traditional Indigenous medicine in North America: A scoping review

“…Sweat lodge ceremonies (SLC) have been practiced by many Indigenous nations since ancient times. SLCs are used as a process of honoring transformation and healing that is central to many Indigenous traditionalisms [ 74 ]. Gossage et al examined the role of SLCs in the treatment for alcohol use disorder in incarcerated people [ 75 ].…”

The role of Indigenous knowledges in psychedelic science

“…Examples from numerous cultures indicate that communal rituals where the community comes together to heal individuals as well as relationships (Katz, 1982;Laderman, 1991). Many of these ceremonies, including the Native American sweat lodge, are based on an ethic of reciprocity and maintaining balance of interrelationship (Garrett et al, 2011;Portman & Garrett, 2006). Another example is the relationship between language or narration and healing in native cultures (Milne & Howard, 2000).…”

“…Last but not least, it is important to reflect and find concrete ways that psychedelic plant medicines can be used to benefit and empower the populations from which we appropriated them. They suffer from a variety of issues due to historical and intergenerational trauma (Garrett et al, 2011), while the recent surge in western uses evokes critiques of neo-colonialism. Indigenous peoples are not a-historical others but historical agents here and now.…”