Smudging in public schools: Reconciliation or religious act?

[rug]

Critics call age-old Indigenous practice of smudging a religious act and potential health risk

By Martha Troian, CBC News
Posted: Dec 30, 2016 1:15 PM ET
Last Updated: Dec 30, 2016 2:06 PM ET

The question of whether smudging should be allowed in public schools is one that arose in Canada in 2016, even becoming the subject of a B.C. court case.

Smudging involves burning a small amount of usually sage, cedar bough or sweetgrass — medicine to Indigenous people — and cleansing oneself with the smoke.

"I think that the most important message of smudging is that it recognizes the power and the life in the earth, and that we're related to that," says Niigaan Sinclair, acting head of the native studies department at the University of Manitoba.

Sinclair says smudging has been taking place since time immemorial and is one way to acknowledge the traditions or law of an Indigenous territory. It's a practice in Indigenous communities in many parts of the country.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-smudging-debate-canadian-schools-1.3916525

[rzemanfl]

1. Ash Wednesday. n/t

[rug]

3. There are some parallels.

Ashes are a sign of atonement for sins. Smudge sticks are burned as a cleansing.

[Ken Burch]

2. The people who oppose it in Canada are the hard-line anti-indigenous crowd.

The ones who defend things like the residential schools, Harper's gutting of the Indian Act in order to make it easier for settler developers to get ahold of the remnants of First Nations land when it has resources under it, and the "Big Scoop&quot a government program in which huge numbers of indigenous children were forcibly removed from their parents' homes and adopted by culturally insensitive settler families.

Smudging is culture, not "religion" in the arrogant Western sense.

[rug]

4. Thanks for the input on Canada.

I suspect those who oppose smudging ceremonies in schools are the same who oppose yoga in gym classes.

[Ken Burch]

5. Here's a quick backgrounder on the group behind this suit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_Centre_for_Constitutional_Freedoms

salient facts:

1) The JCCF is located in Calgary(a city in which most of the Canadian right wing is headquartered);
2) The JCCF was founded by a former candidate for the Wildrose Party(the most right-wing party in Alberta provincial politics, dominated by the "Christian" right, hardline social conservative types, anti-labor extremists, healthcare privatization supporters, and the sort of people who oppose any recognition of the historic injustices done to indigenous people in Canada as well as any recognition of Canada's history of institutional racism, sexism, homo- and transphobia) and a former member of the Canadian Taxpayers Association(an organization devoted to wiping out most of Canada's social service system, most funding for environmental regulation, labor law enforcement and any other legislation devoted to achieving progressive social and economic goals, as well as giving massive tax cuts to the wealthiest people in the country;

The Canadian version of the ACLU, they ain't.

[rug]

6. They sound like the Canadian version of the ACLJ.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Center_for_Law_%26_Justice

[Ken Burch]

7. That's the best possible comparison.

n/t.

[malthaussen]

8. Those pesky definitions...

... not all spiritual acts are religious. Or are they?

Anyway, one might maintain that schools have no place telling anyone what religious or spiritual acts they may practice, but also have no place forcing students to participate in any such acts. But then that "potential health risk" bogeyman comes into play. We mustn't allow our precious flowers to be placed at risk from secondary sage smoke! Obviously, this is of the same order of risk as permitting human sacrifice or wild sexual orgies.

-- Mal