This presentation was given to Harvard Divinity School – “Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities Conference” in April 2023. Here I analyse how Indigenous spiritualities are transforming non-indigenous realities. I investigate the way non-indigenous people are using them to overcome health issues (i.e. depression), but also how they are being commodified for other uses without the proper respect. This implies that they can be harmful for the people who adopt them as practice, but also for Indigenous their selves that may be subject of a spiritual commodification. I look at the Huni Kuin and Yawanawá cases to discuss cultural appropriation and understand if the Indigenous spiritual awakening is just another form of commodification or a sacred key to our own transformation.
