More than peyote: trauma, healing, and the politics of Indigenous cultural survival in the age of psychedelic colonialism

Author

• Christine Diindiisi McCleave

Date of Award

12-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Statement

Doctor of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies

Department

Center for Cross-Cultural Studies

Granting Institution

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Committee Chair

John-Shields, Panigkaq Agatha

Committee Chair

Koskey, Michael

Committee Member

Jernigan, Kevin

Committee Member

Nielson, Jessica

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Overview of dissertation research.

1.1 Positionality statement--who am I and why I am doing this research

1.2 Statement of the problem

1.2.1 Historical context and Indigenous trauma

1.2.2 The ongoing colonialization of the psychedelic movement

1.3 Introduction to the research project

1.3.1 Statement of research objectives, questions, and hypotheses

1.3.2 Expected benefits and outcomes

Chapter 2: Literature.

2.1 Native American historical trauma and plant medicines for healing

2.2 Peyote religion, the Native American church structure, and American Indian Religious Freedom Act

2.3 Conservation and preservation issues

2.4 The impact of the psychedelic movement on tribal nations and Indigenous communities

2.4.1 The efforts to patent synthetic mescaline

2.4.2 Cultural and intellectual property rights

2.4.3 Psychology of worldviews and entheogenic perceptions of reality and consciousness

2.5 Summary of literature review

Chapter 3: Methodology and theoretical framework.

3.1 Overview of research study

3.2 Theoretical framework

3.2.1 Application of Indigenous theoretical frameworks

3.3 Methods and methodology

3.3.1 Auto-ethnography

3.3.2 Community-based research

3.3.3 Phenomenology

3.3.4 Grounded theory and Indigenous approaches

3.4 Data: collection, management, and analysis

3.4.1 Benefits of study

3.4.2 Field contribution and practical utility

3.4.3 Mixed-method data analysis

3.4.4 Quantitative analysis using grounded theory

3.4.6 Combined analysis

3.5 Legislative implications

3.6 Validity of Indigenous methodologies in this study

3.6.1 Revisions undertaken following the defense

3.6.2 Reflexivity note on interpretation

Chapter 4: Research results and findings.

4.1 Demographic details from multiple data sets

4.2 What tribal members are healing from and with

4.3 Concerns about the American Indian Religious Freedom Act

4.4 Peyote practitioners and the contemporary Native American church structure

4.5 Limited psychedelic awareness in Indian country

4.6.2 Commodification, synthetic mescaline, and ethical tensions

4.6.3 Emergent term of psychedelic settlerism

4.7 Application of Indigenous theoretical frameworks in findings

4.8 Summary of key findings: Indigenous realities and the psychedelic movement

4.8.1 Spiritual sovereignty and religious autonomy

4.8.2 Education, misinformation, and the burden of explanation

4.8.3 Clash of worldviews and ideologies

4.8.4 Conclusion of findings

Chapter 5: Discussion, implications, and conclusions.

What this study found (recap of findings)

5.2 Implications for policy, practice, education, and research

5.2.1 Implications for Indigenous communities

5.2.2 Implications for the psychedelic movement

5.2.3 Implications for policy and advocacy

5.2.4 Implications for scholarship and future research

5.3 Final summary

5.3.1 Answers to research questions

5.3.2 Scholarly contributions

5.3.3 Participant benefits outcomes

5.3.4 Limitations and reflexivity

5.4 Final reflections and vision forward

Epilogue

References.

Abstract

This dissertation examines the intersection of peyote religion, historical trauma, and the emergent psychedelic movement through a critical Indigenous lens. Centering peyote as both a sacred medicine and a symbolic flashpoint, the study highlights how contemporary psychedelic policy, practice, and commercialization perpetuate settler-colonial paradigms and threaten Indigenous cultural survival. While mainstream narratives frame psychedelics as tools for healing, this research emphasizes how such framing often obscures deeper histories of dispossession, cultural appropriation, and epistemic violence. Using a mixed-methods approach, including 50 anonymous survey responses, 13 qualitative interviews, and a 6-person focus group, this study amplifies the voices of tribal citizens across the U.S. The findings reveal that healing, for many, is not rooted in the psychedelic substance itself but in the reclamation of land-based traditions, kinship systems, and Indigenous ways of being, and that the psychedelic movement is perpetuating historical trauma. Participants expressed significant concerns regarding peyote access, ecological degradation, legal frameworks like the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA), and the commodification of sacred medicines through psychedelic capitalism. This research explores how peyote healing is inherently political, embedded in struggles over land, law, and cultural recognition. It calls for legal reforms, Indigenous-led conservation efforts, and international protections for sacred knowledge. Ultimately, the data challenges dominant psychedelic discourses by re-centering Indigenous perspectives and asserting that true healing cannot occur without justice, cultural revitalization, and the dismantling of colonial structures that continue to define the psychedelic landscape.

Recommended Citation

McCleave, Christine Diindiisi, "More than peyote: trauma, healing, and the politics of Indigenous cultural survival in the age of psychedelic colonialism" (2025). Indigenous Studies. 56.
https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/uaf_grad_indigenous_studies/56