How is this similar to the cultural appropriation of Native images and practices by the New Age movement? I will use the example of one practice, “the vision quest,” a ritual found in Lakota culture When this ritual is brought into New Age context, its meaning and power are altered. The focus shifts to white people’s needs and vision, which in most New Age venues are about individual growth and prosperity. There is no accountability to a community, particularly any Native community. Rather, White people get to experience their own distorted idea of being spiritual and “Indian,” without any sense.
