Nurturing Inclusivity: A Journey in Psychedelics with Indigenous Communities

 In exploring psychedelics, I’ve witnessed the richness of certain Indigenous traditions in community settings. Practitioners’ ability to incorporate these experiences into the training of the younger generation, with more flexible age limits, speaks to the cultural depth and inclusivity inherent in their practices. Yet, there are challenges, particularly when navigating religious contexts. My personal journey with ayahuasca and plant medicines has been influential, though the religious aspects posed complexities that required careful consideration. 

One particularly impactful experience unfolded on the Navajo reservation in the eighties. A white American male acquaintance lived on the Navajo reservation at the home of a Navajo couple who were both providing peyote ceremonies through the Native American Church, or NAC. This man needed time to withdraw and reflect on his life, so agreed to take care of their sheep when they went out to do ceremonies. After about a year of living quietly beyond electricity and indoor plumbing, he found his way and announced that he was finally ready to leave and rejoin society. The Navajo medicine couple told him that they saw he had indeed gained strength, and asked him how he did that. What medicines did he use? He replied that his medicine, in the traditional rather than regulatory sense, was MDMA. To his surprise, they asked if they could do a ceremony with MDMA. 

I got called in and brought MDMA for an all-night ceremony with the two leaders of NAC in a teepee on the reservation. Near sunset, I saw a cloud of dust on the distant horizon that got closer and closer. I was told that it was their 17-year-old niece, who rode on horseback for hours to get to us to be our translator because they only spoke Navajo and we only spoke English. The Navajo couple asked about our rituals, and we replied that we just sat around until whoever felt like talking did so. I felt we had a poverty of ritual — but also a freedom to create any kind of experience. After the all-night ceremony, we all went to rest. Late in the afternoon, we approached our translator to say goodbye. To my surprise, she was reading Seventeen magazine. It then became clear to me that, really, the intended recipient of this whole ceremony was the 17-year-old niece, who was torn between different cultures. Her relatives wanted her to see that outsiders valued parts of their culture.

In February 1990, MAPS organized our first large conference called “Psychedelics in the 1990s: Regulation or Prohibition.”  We invited Emerson Jackson, the president of the Native American Church of North America, to be a speaker. Just two months later, in April 1990, the Supreme Court decided favorably in the historic legal case for their religious freedom to use peyote. Later that year, I was at the Kennedy School of Government and applied for a competitive two-year leadership training program for people who want a career in the federal government, what’s now called a Presidential Management Fellowship. Part of the application process was that one had to write about a policy issue. I decided to write about the NAC Supreme Court case for religious freedom, and fortunately, I was awarded the fellowship.

In 2005, prior to the 2006 US Supreme Court case that recognized the União do Vegetal Church (UDV) permission to use ayahuasca under the First Amendment, I participated in two UDV ceremonies with ayahuasca that took place in the U.S. Before the second ceremony began, I was told that if I wanted to continue to participate in the third and subsequent ceremonies, I would need to decide if I would join the UDV Church. During the ceremony, the origin story of the UDV was told. The UDV teaches that King Solomon left Jerusalem for the Amazon and figured out how to unite the two plants that together created ayahuasca, then he returned to Jerusalem. I asked if that was a metaphor for a smart person figuring out how to combine the plants. Instead, I was told that it was literal, a teaching that I couldn’t actually believe. As a result, I was unable to become a UDV member, but I was deeply grateful for the ayahuasca experiences.

The commitment to Indigenous representation goes beyond individual experiences. In our conferences and publications, we actively seek Indigenous voices, providing scholarships and publishing articles to amplify their perspectives. All of our major conferences have Indigenous participation, a push long led by our dear Public Education and Culture Specialist, Bia Labate, whom I appreciate for playing this role historically inside MAPS. In 2010, we had our first ayahuasca track at MAPS’ first Psychedelic Science conference; in 2013, we continued that tradition at our second MAPS Psychedelic Science conference, and in 2017, we expanded to an all-inclusive plant medicine track at MAPS’ third Psychedelic Science conference. At our most recent Psychedelic Science conference in 2023, Indigenous leaders from all over the Americas, and even Siberia, were attendees and speakers. We offered scholarships to all folks who self-identified as Indigenous, 234 people.

As part of our therapist training program, MAPS hosted a program in 2019 for therapists of color in Kentucky with financial support from the Open Science Foundation and other donors. The MDMA-Assisted Therapy Education Program, overseen in the U.S. by MAPS Public Benefit Corporation, has 78 Indigenous alumni, 38 of whom received full or partial scholarships.

While MAPS’ top priority has been sponsorship of FDA drug development research into MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, MAPS is multidisciplinary in nature and has always advocated for drug policy reform and religious freedom. We see ourselves as leaders who bring all voices together. Our collective journey as an organization and movement-builders has been a continuous exploration of understanding, respect, and healing. The delicate dance between preserving traditions and embracing the potential of psychedelics in transformative therapy requires ongoing collaboration, dialogue, and above all, a commitment to nurturing inclusivity. As we move forward, I remain dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices and ensuring that the psychedelic renaissance is a shared journey for all.


To healing for all, 
Rick Doblin, Ph.D.
MAPS Founder and President