Plant Medicine Track at Psychedelic Science 2025 Spotlights Ancestral Wisdom, Indigenous Sovereignty, and Being in Right Relationship

/EIN News/ -- • From Peyote conservation to Religious Freedom, the Plant Medicine Track honors ancestral traditions, uplifts Indigenous leadership, and promotes ethical and reciprocal relationships with the stewards of these sacred medicines.

• Featuring voices from the Amazon, Wirikuta, Sierra Mazateca (Oaxaca), and tribal nations within the United States, speakers include Sandor Iron Rope, Osiris Garcia Cerqueda, Daiara Tukano, Christine McCleave, Chief Nixiwaka Yawanawá, and Raine Piyãko.

• Sessions explore ancestral healing practices, biocultural conservation, Indigenous sovereignty, sacred plant protection, and the ethics of Psychedelic Science and policy reform.

DENVER, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With growing recognition of psychedelics and plant medicines in therapeutic and scientific settings, it is a critical time to uplift and acknowledge the Indigenous wisdom and practices that preceded and guide today’s progress. Psychedelic Science 2025 (PS2025) honors these roots with a dedicated Plant Medicine Track that highlights spiritual, cultural, and ecological dimensions of Indigenous practices with sacred plants.

Hosted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), PS2025 takes place June 16–20 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. With more than 500 speakers across five days, the gathering convenes a global community of scientists, healers, advocates, leaders, and Indigenous knowledge-keepers. Among its many offerings, the Plant Medicine Track stands out as an immersive and robust forum covering ancestral traditions, religious freedom, Indigenous sovereignty, and biocultural healing practices, and their intersection with the psychedelic movement.

The Plant Medicine Track weaves together a rich spectrum of themes, from preserving endangered sacred plants and habitats, to whether we can responsibly integrate Indigenous knowledge in contemporary therapy and science, to utilizing modern psychedelic therapy practices to support the healing of tribal, Native, and other Indigenous communities across the world. Key focus areas include:

• Biocultural Protection – Safeguarding sacred plants and their ecosystems (for example, the peyote cactus in Wirikuta and South Texas (the Chihuahuan Desert) alongside the cultures that revere them, blending conservation with cultural rights.
• Indigenous Leadership – Highlighting Indigenous voices and sovereignty in the psychedelic ecosystem, including thoughtful perspectives from elders and youth alike on how to respect, share, and regulate plant medicines in today’s globalized world.
• Grassroots Healing – Spotlighting community-driven healing initiatives that merge ancestral practices with modern approaches to address challenges like addiction, trauma, and social inequality.
• Legal & Ethical Frameworks – Exploring the evolving legal landscape and ethical guidelines for sacred medicine use – from religious freedom and policy reform to protocols for respectful engagement and benefit-sharing with Indigenous communities.
  

“One of the most important themes of Psychedelic Science 2025 is the relationship between the psychedelic movement and the many Indigenous communities that preceded it, participate in it, and are impacted by it. MAPS is proud to work alongside, learn from, and be in relationship with tribal, Native American/Alaska Native, and Indigenous people from across the country and the world. We honor the spectrum of identity represented by land-based practices, celebrate efforts to reclaim or reconnect to them, and acknowledge the complexity that comes alongside navigating indigeneity and territoriality in a globalized world. The Plant Medicine Track is one way we highlight these topics and ensure that the contemporary psychedelic movement remains grounded in respect, reciprocity, and reverence for its roots.”
— Ismali Lourido Ali, J.D., Interim Co-Executive Director, MAPS

From legacy Indigenous healers and dedicated conservationists to activists and cutting-edge scientists, PS2025’s Plant Medicine Track focuses on the deep connections between culture, ecology, and healing that drive the psychedelic field – and the responsibility we all have to our larger community. Thanks to US-based nonprofit organizations, including the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund (IMC Fund), which works to directly lift up voices from Indigenous communities around the world, and the Chacruna Institute, which maintains an incredible commitment to including Indigenous voices in the psychedelic ecosystem. It behooves all of us to educate ourselves on these delicate subjects, and MAPS is proud to be highlighting the vision and the possibility that this psychedelic effort can continue without doing harm.

• Indigenous-Led Sessions – Talks and panels on multiple stages that are guided by Indigenous elders and knowledge-keepers from across the Americas, Africa, and beyond, sharing perspectives rarely heard outside their communities.
  
• Cross-Cultural Exchange – Dialogues bridging traditional wisdom with modern science, and connecting different generations and cultures to foster mutual learning about healing, conservation, and community well-being.
  
• Ethical & Sustainable Practices – Forward-looking discussions on tensions that come with integrating psychedelics into society, including the establishment of entheogenic churches, international policy on Indigenous rights, and best practices for reciprocity, sustainability, and ecological responsibility.
  
• Alliance-Building – Networking opportunities to connect with Indigenous leaders, researchers, and fellow advocates, and opportunities to forge partnerships and alliances to support biocultural conservation and cross-cultural initiatives around the world.

Featured Sessions

Setting the Principles for Cultural Appreciation and Respectful Relationship
To kick off the Plant Medicine Track, this panel features an international delegation of Indigenous medicine practitioners, Raine Piyåko (Vice President, Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute), Steven Benally (Founding Board Member, Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative), Georges Gassita (Secretary General of the Board of Directors, Blessings of the Forest Gabon), and Madsa’ Juårez (as moderator; Co-Executive Director, Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund) will explore respectful interaction with medicines and the people that steward them, opening the track for the possibility of Cultural Appreciation and proper knowledge sharing.

Sacred or Stolen? The Fine Line Between Cultural Appreciation and Appropriation in Psychedelic Healing
As plant medicine gains mainstream attention, there’s growing concern over who controls the narrative and who benefits. Are Western psychedelic practitioners honoring Indigenous traditions or erasing them? This conversation with Lígia Duque Platero, Ph.D. (Education Program Associate, Chacruna Institute), Osiris García Cerqueda, Ph.D. (Indigenous Mazatec historian and sociologist), and Nico Gusac (as moderator) explores cultural appropriation, reciprocity, and ethical ways to engage with plant medicine traditions without perpetuating harm.

Declaration from the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund to Psychedelic Science
On the Keynote stage, Christine McCleave (CEO, National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition) and Daiara Tukano, MA (Indigenous Rights Activist, Brazil) will read the Declaration from the IMC Fund Indigenous Delegation to PS2023 which was published after the previous conference, with new additions based on two days of discussion in the plant medicine track at PS2025.

Peyote: History, Biocultural Considerations and Indigenous Perspectives
It was only as recently as 1994 that the right of Native American Church members to practice with their sacred Peyote medicine was guaranteed by the Native American Freedom of Religion Act. Today, wild Peyote cactus populations are extremely at risk. This panel brings together Sandor Iron Rope (Board Member, Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative) and Lucy Benally (Board Member, Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund), members of the Native American Church, to discuss advances and possibilities for the future of the Peyote cactus and the people who utilize it as their way of life. Moderated by Miriam Volat, MA (Co-Director, Riverstyx Foundation).

Ayahuasca: Biocultural Overview and Indigenous Considerations
The globalization of ayahuasca over the past several decades has had multifaceted impacts on Indigenous communities across the Amazon basin. This panel brings together Indigenous leaders from Peru, Colombia, and Brazil who are actively working for the conservation of their cultural heritages and toward the proper use of ayahuasca as a medicine. Miguel Evanjuanoy Chindoy (Co-Director, Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund), Chief Nixiwaká Biraci Yawanawá (Spiritual and political leader, Yawanawá people, Brazilian Amazon), Chief Yama Nomanawa (Leader, Noke Koi villages, Brazil), and Daiara Tukano, MA (as moderator) will discuss pertinent themes from on-the-ground experiences at the intersection of preserved traditional practices and the Western market, including collective efforts like forming an ancestral doctor’s union, leveraging Western interest in ayahuasca to benefit Indigenous communities, and advancing territorial rights in the face of foreign industrial interests.

Churches and the New Psychedelic Emergence: Ancestral Medicines and the Growing Movement
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act provides a legal mechanism for church groups in the United States to use otherwise-scheduled medicines and substances as part of their so-called religious practices. But what are Indigenous perspectives on this movement? Walter López (President, ASOMASHK), Sandor Iron Rope (Board Member, Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative), Sean McAlliser (Attorney), and Miriam Volat, MA (as moderator) will describe the international frameworks that exist for the protection of Indigenous knowledge and resources, examine concerns around the legalization of psychedelic churches from the viewpoint of Indigenous leaders, and offer considerations for the way forward.

Romantic Delusions: What We’re Not Talking About in Plant Medicine Circles?
Cassandra Muileboom will moderate a discussion between Bia Labate, Ph.D. and Nico Gusac of the Chacruna Institute that confronts the seductive narratives surrounding plant medicines—the romanticism, mystification, and spiritual consumerism that often obscure uncomfortable truths. It critically examines how plant medicine culture frequently glosses over issues of risk, trauma, mental health crises, and abuse. The conversation also explores how the idolization of “healers,” particularly within Indigenous and neo-shamanic contexts, fosters environments ripe for power abuse and spiritual bypassing. It further tackles the problematic idealization of Indigenous peoples as pure, enlightened stewards of the Earth—an image that erases complexity, material struggle, and political demands.

International Legal Frameworks, Indigenous Medicine, and the Psychedelic Movement
Daiara Tukano, MA, Patricia Tóbon Yagarí (Indigenous lawyer, Colombia), Christine McCleave and Madsa’ Juárez (as moderator) map out the landscape of global policies that intersect with Indigenous medicine traditions. From United Nations agreements on biodiversity and traditional knowledge to evolving drug laws in countries like the United States, Mexico, and Gabon, this session highlights how well (or poorly) current frameworks safeguard Indigenous communities and their sacred plants. It also challenges psychedelic advocates to go beyond legal minimums by adopting higher standards of respect, benefit-sharing, and ecological responsibility, sharing real examples of both progress and ongoing challenges at this critical intersection.

Indigenous-Led Biocultural Conservation Success Stories with Ayahuasca, Iboga, and Peyote
Activism for policy change can be a hugely unifying force. MAPS Interim Co-Executive Director Ismail Lourido Ali will moderate a Keynote stage panel of high-profile lawyers, Patricia Tobón, Georges Gassita, and James Botsford, all of who have worked in Indigenous movements for decades, to discuss how protections for Indigenous rights — specifically related to Indigenous sacred medicine use — directly benefits communities and conservation efforts on the ground.

Chacruna Sidebar Conversations: Sacred Plants, Decolonial Dialogues
The Chacruna Institute is offering dedicated conversations within the hallway of the convention center, with the intention to foster deep connection, collective wisdom, and community empowerment within the psychedelic field. These gatherings will include conversations such as “From Reciprocity to Sovereignty: Sacred Plants Conservation and Community,” with Osiris García Cerqueda, Ph.D., Lígia Duque Platero, Ph.D., Karina Alvarez, and Marta Camagna; “Healing with Plants: An Intimate Conversation with Maestro José López and Anne-Laure Vincke; and more.

Other featured voices in the Plant Medicine Track include Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. (pioneering psychologist and shamanism researcher), David Bronner (Cosmic Engagement Officer, Dr. Bronner’s), and many more – each adding a unique perspective from traditional knowledge to modern science. Together, these speakers embody the inclusive spirit of Psychedelic Science 2025, where ancient wisdom and contemporary research unite to shape the future of healing.

Visit PsychedelicScience.org to view the full schedule, register for workshops, and explore hotel and travel options. Workshop spaces are limited and available on a first-come basis.

About Psychedelic Science
Psychedelic Science 2025 (PS2025), hosted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), is the world’s leading psychedelic conference. Returning to the Colorado Convention Center in Denver from June 16-20, 2025, this five-day event brings together a global community of scientists, therapists, policymakers, cultural leaders, and advocates to explore the forefront of psychedelic research, therapy, and culture. Facilitated by Superfly, known for producing iconic events such as Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, PS2025 will feature expert speakers; hands-on workshops; community events with art, music, and mindfulness activities; and scholarship opportunities to support broad participation.

Since its inception in 2010, the Psychedelic Science conference series has fostered knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and community-building within the psychedelic ecosystem. Join thousands of attendees as we explore the transformative potential of psychedelics and shape the future of mental health, policy, and cultural understanding. For more information and registration details, visit psychedelicscience.org, and follow us on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

ABOUT MAPS
Founded in 1986, MAPS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana. MAPS' conference flagship, Psychedelic Science, has been the leading convening of the psychedelic community since 2010. MAPS incubated Lykos Therapeutics, a drug-development public benefit company, and the Zendo Project, a leader in psychedelic harm reduction. Since MAPS was founded, philanthropic donors and grantors have given more than $150 million to advance research, change drug policy, and evolve education in the field of psychedelics.

CONTACT
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