Direct Financial Support
We give direct financial support to indigenous families who are dedicated to sacred rituals.
From the sacred Ayahuasca traditions of the Quechua Lamista nation to the holy peyote medicine of the Native American Church and the Oglagla Lakota Nation Sundance way of life; from the Sacred Holy Children psilocybin from the Mazatec in Mexico and the Mayan fire ceremony in Guatemala, Sacred Ways Foundation is supporting keepers of ancestral wisdom.
-
![]()
Eugenia Pineda Casimiro
Eugenia is a Mazatec healer in the tradition of los Niños Santos, or psilocybin mushrooms. Originally from Huautla de Jimenez, Mexico, Eugenia was trained in her ancestral lineage by her mother, Abuela Julieta, of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers.
-
![]()
James Etsitty Jr. and Mary Blackmountain
James and Mary come from the four corners region of Arizona, land of the Diné Navajo people. They have given their lives in the care of others. James and Mary serve the Native American Church, where peyote is a sacrament. They, as medicine people, care for the ceremonial fireplace and the sacred water of life.
-
![]()
Keith Horse Looking Senior
Keith Horse Looking is a Native American medicine man, born and raised in the traditional Lakota way of life. Keith carries the voice of the people, as a Sundance Chief, a pipe carrier, a spiritual leader and Yuwipi man.
-
![]()
Orlando and Lucy Chujandama Huazanga
Orlando, pictured with his wife Lucy, is a Quechua Lamista healer. He is a descendent of the Chancas people from the northeast region of Peru, an area known as the eyebrows of the Amazon. Orlando followed the teachings of his grandfather Aquilino Chujandama, who was one of the most respected vegetalista healers and ayahuasqueros of his time.
-
![]()
Walter Thomas Mendoza Cholotio
Walter is a Tzutujil Mayan priest who leads and interprets the language of fire. He has given his life to the apprenticeship and practice of the Mayan cosmovision and traditional rituals. He reads the oracles defined in the ancient Mayan Popol Vuh.
Projects
Sacred Ways Foundation directly supports families who keep traditional practices alive. We give unrestricted funds to use in whatever way they need to empower their practice. In addition to direct financial support to indigenous communities, Sacred Ways Foundation funds programs that support indigenous cultural revitalization.
Reciprocity in Action
We practice reciprocity because these medicine families carry indigenous wisdom and knowledge. They’ve been generous with their teachings and spiritual support. Sometimes this money serves to give them a break, to pay off a loan, or to get teeth fixed, or pay for a child’s education. There are no strings attached to these funds - we trust that they know what to do and we are simply saying thank you.
Indigenous Artists Program
The creation and utilization of artistic works is an essential cultural practice for indigenous communities. Sacred Ways supports indigenous artists as a vital form of indigenous cultural expression. Sacred Ways partners with indigenous artists to create inspiring educational materials for distribution online and in their communities. Sacred Ways is committed to supporting indigenous artists so that they can bring their art forward, to create opportunities between Western artists and indigenous communities, such as online exhibitions, and to create exposure to indigenous oral storytelling around environment, nature, and the indigenous cosmovision as their source of inspiration.
Medicine Art
Sacred Ways has convened Shipibo artist Harry Pinedo and French filmmaker Jan Kounen to reach the widest possible public with medicine art.
Jan Kounen is a Netherlands-born French film director and producer is known for innovating the genre like Ayahuasca Kosmic Journey, a virtual reality film. Harry Pinedo belongs to the Shipibo people from Ucayali in Peru’s central Amazon, migrating to Lima in 1995 where he lives in the Shipibo urban community of Cantagallo. His work has recently been shown internationally in Brazil, France and Spain.
Metsa Series
The Metsa Series is a collection of stories, prayers, and instructions from a master with 25 years of experience holding ceremony.
Journey with Metsa as he shares his perspective on how to relate to the psychedelic renaissance.
Sustainable Ceremonies Program
Many ceremonial objects used in indigenous cultural practices utilize materials that may come from threatened, vulnerable and endangered plants. In the sustainable ceremonies program, Sacred Ways promotes the use of sustainable sources and funds projects that protect the environment where sacred plants and supplies are cultivated.
Archiving and Documentation Program
Intangible cultural works are produced by indigenous communities and held and transmitted in oral traditions. Oral traditions are vulnerable to economic, social and political disruptions, since intangible works by definition are not documented. Sacred Ways supportz projects and initiatives that create the necessary technical foundation, best practices and training so that indigenous communities can document their traditions and similar activities. Archiving and documentation support provides vital continuity between generations and inspires the younger generations to gain and develop digital documentation skills. Support may include grants to indigenous storytellers, artists and cultural leaders for skills-building workshops, digital media production and archiving best-practices.
Indigenous Innovation Program
An important part of Sacred Ways’ mission is to support cultural revitalization so that indigenous communities have the resources to address economic, social and cultural conditions where they live. Sacred Ways supports businesses owned by indigenous communities. For example, Sacred Ways plans to create opportunities for indigenous-owned businesses to establish private partnerships with funders, to conduct capacity building workshops, and to facilitate workshops for indigenous communities to develop innovative and creative ideas and similar activities.
Get Involved
Contribute to support our work.