Plastic shaman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search Plastic shaman is a pejorative colloquialism applied

to individuals who are attempting to pass themselves off as shamans, holy people, or other traditional spiritual leaders, but who have no genuine connection to the traditions or cultures they claim to r epresent. In some cases, the "plastic shaman" may have some genuine cultural con nection, but is seen to be exploiting that knowledge for ego, power or money.[1] Plastic shamans are believed by their critics to use the mystique of these cultu ral traditions, and the legitimate curiosity of sincere seekers, for personal ga in. In some cases, exploitation of students and traditional culture may involve the selling of fake "traditional" spiritual ceremonies, fake artifacts, fictiona l accounts in books, illegitimate tours of sacred sites, and often the chance to buy spiritual titles.[1] Contents [hide] 1 Overview 2 Terminology 3 See also 4 References 4.1 Documentary film 5 Notes 6 External links [edit] OverviewThe term "plastic shaman" originated among Native American and Fi rst Nations activists and is most often applied to people fraudulently posing as Native American traditional healers. People who have been referred to as "plast ic shamans" include those believed to be fraudulent spiritual advisors, seers, p sychics, self-identified New Age shamans, or other practitioners of non-traditio nal modalities of spirituality and healing who are operating on a fraudulent bas is.[1] Critics of plastic shamans[who?] believe there is legitimate danger to seekers w ho place their trust in such individuals. Those who participate in ceremonies le d by the untrained may be exposing themselves to various psychological, spiritua l and even physical risks. The methods used by a fraudulent teacher may have bee n invented outright or recklessly adapted from a variety of other cultures and t aught without reference to a real tradition. In almost all "plastic shaman" case s a fraud is employing these partial or fraudulent "healing" or "spiritual" meth ods without a traditional community of legitimate elders to provide checks and b alances on their behaviour. In the absence of the precautions such traditional c ommunities normally have in place in regard to sacred ceremonies, and without tr aditional guidelines for ethical behaviour, abuse can flourish.[1] Those using the term "plastic shaman" to criticize these sorts of teachers belie ve that they are also potentially dangerous because they may harm the reputation s of the cultures and communities they claim to represent. There is evidence tha t, in the most extreme cases, fraudulent and sometimes criminal acts have been c ommitted by a number of these imposters. It is also claimed by traditional peopl es that in some cases these plastic shamans may be using corrupt, negative and s ometimes harmful aspects of authentic practices. In many cases this has led to t he actual traditional spiritual elders declaring the plastic shaman and their wo rk to be "dark" or "evil" from the perspective of traditional standards of accep table conduct.[1] Plastic shamans are also believed to be dangerous because they give people false ideas about traditional spirituality and ceremonies.[citation needed] In some c ases, the plastic shamans will require that the ceremonies are performed in the

nude, and that men and women participate in the ceremony together, although such practices are an innovation and were not traditionally followed.[citation neede d] Another innovation may include the introduction of sex magic or "tantric" ele ments, which may be a legitimate form of spirituality in its own right (when use d in its original cultural context), but in this context it is an importation fr om a different tradition and is not part of authentic Native practices.[1] People have been injured, and some have died, in sweat lodge ceremonies.[2][3] Many of those who work to expose plastic shamans believe that the abuses perpetu ated by spiritual frauds can only exist when there is ignorance about the cultur es a fraudulent practitioner claims to represent. Activists working to uphold th e rights of traditional cultures work not only to expose the fraudulent distorti on and exploitation of Indigenous traditions and Indigenous communities, but als o to educate seekers about the differences between traditional cultures and the often-distorted modern approaches to spirituality.[1] [edit] Terminology"Shaman" is a term which originated in Siberia. However, "sham anism" is often used by anthropologists as a general term to describe any cultur al practice that involves vision-seeking and communication with the spirits, no matter how diverse the cultures included in this generalisation. Native American s or First Nations spiritual people use terms in their own languages to describe their traditions; their spiritual teachers, leaders or elders are not called "s hamans".[1] Geary Hobson sees the New Age use of the term shamanism as a cultura l appropriation of Native American culture by "white" people who have distanced themselves from their own history.[1] In Nepal, the term Chicken Shaman is used.[4] [edit] See alsoCultural appropriation Cultural imperialism Curandero Ear candling Fraud Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 - British legislation that both combats plastic sham anism and repeals the 1735 Witchcraft Act The Modern Parents- an English Cartoon strip lampooning New Age beliefs and thei r followers Neoshamanism New Age Noble savage Ethnocentrism Plastic Paddy Quackery Early film racism in the United States Stereotypes of East Asians in the Western world Stereotypes of African Americans Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans Stereotypes of Native Americans Shamanism Transamerica a character in the film calls himself a "peyote shaman" Wannabe Witch doctor Xenocentrism [edit] ReferencesWard Churchill, From a Native Son: Selected Essays in Indigenis m, 1985-1995. 1996, Boston: South End Press. ISBN 0-89608-553-8 Richard de Mille, The Don Juan Papers: Further Castaneda Controversies. 1980, Sa nta Barbara, CA: Ross Erikson Publishers. ISBN 0-915520-25-7

Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. 1964; reprint, Princeto n, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-691-11942-2 Jay Courtney Fikes, Carlos Castaneda: Academic Opportunism and the Psychedelic S ixties. Millenia Press, Canada, 1993 ISBN 0-9696960-0-0 R. Green, "The Tribe Called Wannabee." Folklore. 1988; 99(1): 30-55. Michael Harner, The Way of the Shaman. 1980, new edition, HarperSanFrancisco, 19 90, ISBN 0-06-250373-1 Graham Harvey, ed. Shamanism: A Reader. New York and London: Routledge, 2003. IS BN 0-415-25330-6. G. Hobson, "The Rise of the White Shaman as a New Version of Cultural Imperialis m." in: Hobson, G., ed. The Remembered Earth. Albuquerque, NM: Red Earth Press; 1978: 100-108. Philip Jenkins, Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spiritu ality. New York: Oxford University Press; 2004. ISBN 0-19-516115-7 A. B. Kehoe, "Primal Gaia: Primitivists and Plastic Medicine Men." in: Clifton, J., ed. The Invented Indian: Cultural Fictions and Government Policies. New Brun swick: Transaction; 1990: 193-209. Alice Kehoe, Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Th inking. 2000. London: Waveland Press. ISBN 1-57766-162-1 Jeremy Narby and Francis Huxley, eds. Shamans Through Time: 500 Years on the Pat h to Knowledge. 2001; reprint, New York: Tarcher, 2004. ISBN 0-500-28327-3 Daniel C. Noel, Soul Of Shamanism: Western Fantasies, Imaginal Realities, Contin uum International Publishing Group ISBN 0-8264-1081-2 Daniel Pinchbeck, Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart o f Contemporary Shamanism. New York: Broadway Books, 2002. ISBN 0-7679-0742-6 Wendy Rose, "The Great Pretenders: Further Reflections on White Shamanism." in: Jaimes, M. A., ed. The State of Native America: Genocide, Colonisation and Resis tance. Boston: South End; 1992: 403-421. Andrea Smith, "For All Those Who Were Indian in a Former life." in: Adams, C., e d. Ecofeminism and the Sacred. New York: Continuum; 1994: 168-171. Robert J. Wallis, Shamans/neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, Alternative Archaeologies and Co ntemporary Pagans. London: Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-30203-X Andrei Znamenski, ed. Shamanism: Critical Concepts, 3 vols. London: Routledge, 2 004. ISBN 0-415-31192-6 Fergus M. Bordewich, "Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native America ns at the End of the Twentieth Century" Robert F. Berkhofer, "The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present" Peter C Rollins, "Hollywood's Indian : the portrayal of the Native American in f ilm" Vine Deloria, Jr., "The Pretend Indian: Images of Native Americans in the Movies " Deloria, Philip, "Playing Indian" [edit] Documentary film"White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men" (1996) Directors : Terry Macy and Daniel Hart[5] [edit] Notes1.^ a b c d e f g h i G. Hobson, "The Rise of the White Shaman as a New Version of Cultural Imperialism." in: Hobson, G., ed. The Remembered Earth. Albuquerque, NM: Red Earth Press; 1978: 100-108. 2.^ Byard, RW (2005-09-26). "Dehydration and heat-related death: sweat lodge syn drome". Forensic Science SA. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=R etrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16121078&dopt=Abstract. Retrieved 2006-09-26. 3.^ Herel, Suzanne (2002-06-27). "2 seeking spiritual enlightenment die in new-a ge sweat lodge". San Francisco Chronicle (Hearst Communications). http://www.sfg ate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/06/27/BA212763.DTL. Ret rieved 2006-09-26. 4.^ Mller-Ebeling, Claudia; Christian Rtsch & Surendra Bahadur Shahi (2000). Shama nism and Tantra in the Himalayas. Thames & Hudson. pp. 19, 24 & 156. ISBN 0-50051108-X. 5.^ "White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men," Terry Macy and Daniel Hart, Native

Voices, Indigenous Documentary Film at the University of Washington [edit] External linksNative Sites denouncing plastic shamans New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans Nuage Tricksters Articles and editorials Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality Exposing The Fake Medicine Men and Women Native American Elders' Reactions to Castaneda and 'don Juan' Spiritual Hucksterism: The Rise of the Plastic Medicine Men Articles on Selling Native Spirituality Native Religions and "Plastic Medicine Men" Ownership of Indigenous Cultures Plastic Shamans and Astroturf Sun Dances: New Age Commercialization of Native Am erican Spirituality Selling Native Spirituality The Selling of Indian Culture