“Where is the white sage?”
A bundle of silvery leaves tied with cotton thread, white smoke rising in curls and clouds, and a pungent, botanical smell filling the air – most of us are familiar with the popular usage of Salvia apiana, otherwise known as white sage. In recent years the practice of “smudging” has gained rapid popularity amongst those dabbling in witchcraft and new age spirituality. So why then, as a supplier of these goods, would we choose not to sell it?
Salvia apiana is a plant native to a small geographical area in the southwestern US. People indigenous to these areas have used this plant medicinally and in spiritual ceremony for centuries, where our assumed familiarity with the practice of “smudging” originates. For most individuals this is where the understanding of the practice both begins and ends. The complexity and respect of the original uses of this plant have been lost to new age marketing, appropriation, and a nonspecific, misinformed concept of “spiritual cleansing.” Because of this, several indigenous tribes have recently made requests that the public stop harvesting and using white sage altogether.
At The Sojourner, we have several excellent alternatives to white sage that are just as effective at cleansing and purifying spaces. Blue sage is the most closely related to white sage. Check out all of our white sage alternatives here.
Unfortunately, poaching of these plants from public and protected lands to meet demand and generate profit is commonplace. Plants are frequently illegally harvested and sold to wholesale suppliers, who process them into bundles and sell them to retailers. As someone who has been purchasing in this trade for a decade, I can confirm: There is no regulating body that ensures that the bundle of white sage you receive was sustainably or ethically harvested – whether the seller claims it to be so or not!
So then, what are the consequences of these actions? Ultimately, the depletion of wild stands of this plant before they can recover may be inevitable, and the stripping of indigenous people of cultural resources is already occurring. White sage is not currently listed on any government-sanctioned list of endangered or threatened plant species. However, independent organizations such as United Plant Savers are watching wild populations with a close eye as years pass by and demand fluctuates.
As a business juggling the demands of existing in our capitalist society with exercising ethical consciousness, we take a stand and choose not to sell white sage. We hope to break an unsustainable cycle and aid our customers in growing toward a more informed, balanced, and culturally aware practice. We are all in this together!
