Re-membering to Belong in Disenchanted Times: Starvation of Being and Ancestral Futures
This presentation was given at Harvard Divinity School as part of the PES Conference, Belonging: Practices of Inclusion in Spiritual Communities, the Academy, and Society, in September 2026. Abstract: Contemporary crises—climate disruption, biodiversity collapse, and post-pandemic disorientation—are often met with technical fixes, yet many feel a deeper loss of grounding and belonging. Drawing on my […]
Sacred Medicines and Indigenous Rights
This presentation was prepared as part of my work with the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute to protect Indigenous rights in relation to sacred medicines. The strategic plan it presents was developed in September 2023 and should therefore be understood within the context of that period, as significant developments have since taken place at both the national […]
The sacred and traditional use of Rapé in Indigenous Amazonian Cultures
This presentation was delivered at Oxford University in December 2024, hosted by the Oxford Psychedelic Society. Here, I look at the history and cultural significance of rapé, a sacred Amazonian snuff used by Indigenous peoples in healing and ceremonial contexts. Made from powdered Nicotiana rustica tobacco blended with plant ashes and other ingredients that vary […]
Book Launch: Socioecological Transformations
This was the first of two online launch events for Socioecological Transformations (Routledge, 2025), presenting the book as a collective exploration of socioecological change across ontological, structural, and care-based dimensions. Structured as a 90-minute session, the event moved through a sequence of short “one-minute seeds” — brief interventions designed to open multiple entry points into […]
Ancestral Medicines, Biocultural Conservation and the Politics of Recognition
This presentation was delivered at the Spiritualities and Healing in Global and Transhistorical Perspectives Conference, organized by the Fondazione Giorgio Cini and the Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions in June 2025. It explores the intersections of Indigenous medicine, spirituality, and governance by analyzing the outcomes of the First Ancestral Knowledge Sharing Meeting, […]
Transformative Identities: Body Painting in Indigenous Amazonian Cosmologies
This presentation was given at the Program for Evolution and Spirituality Conference on Spirituality and the Arts at Harvard Divinity School in April 2025. It examines body painting within Indigenous Amazonian cosmologies as a deeply cosmopolitical and epistemological practice. Drawing on the framework of Amazonian perspectivism and grounded in examples from the Yawanawá, Assurini, and […]
Indigenous Medicines and Ethics: Whose Epistemes, Which Benefits?
This presentation was part of the “Psychedelics in Context: Politics, Epistemics, and Ethics” conference, held in November 2024 at Harvard Divinity School. Here I analyze the ethical complexities surrounding the use of Indigenous medicines, focusing on power dynamics and epistemic hierarchies that shape their integration into Western frameworks. Drawing on Foucault’s concept of power and […]
Indigenous Rights, Ethics and Psychedelics
On October 2024, I had the honor of hosting the third event in the Indigenous Awareness Initiative Webinar Series, titled “Indigenous Rights, Ethics, and Psychedelics: Who Holds the Power, Who Reaps the Benefits?”. In this talk, I explored how Indigenous rights intersect with the ethical use of psychedelics, focusing on key issues such as power […]
Integration in Indigenous contexts
In this presentation, given in June 2024 at Exeter University, I explore why the concept of “integration” is not traditionally present in Indigenous contexts. Integration, as understood in modern terms, refers to the period following a psychedelic experience and the practices used to incorporate its insights into daily life. This concept has become increasingly significant […]
Ancestral Intelligence: Insights from the Yawanawá People
This talk offers a rare and meaningful opportunity to learn directly from the Yawanawá People. It illuminates the intersection of ancestral wisdom, modern science, and contemporary challenges. The talk focuses on ancestral intelligence’s role in changing our future and understanding Indigenous medicines. This segment is part of an event held at the Blessed Foundation in […]