Indigenous, Social, and Cultural Considerations

This course explores the intersection of social justice, cultural respect, and the facilitation of sacred mushroom experiences. Students will develop a critical understanding of how racial, cultural, and systemic dynamics shape facilitator-participant relationships, access to care, and outcomes in natural medicine work. Topics include the impact of the Controlled Substances Act, drug policy, systemic inequities in healthcare, and intergenerational trauma—particularly in under-resourced and marginalized communities.

The course also provides a deep dive into the historical and living practices of Indigenous mushroom traditions, focusing on the Mazatec people and the global impact of María Sabina. Students will analyze the cultural appropriation and commodification of sacred medicines and explore ways to engage in ethical, reciprocal relationships with Indigenous communities. Through this course, future facilitators will be equipped to support healing practices grounded in cultural humility, equity, and historical awareness.

Learning objectives 

1. Social & Cultural Justice, Cultural Respect & Right Relationship to Mushroom Facilitation

• Understanding of how racial and cultural dynamics affect interactions between facilitator and participant;
• The Controlled Substance Act and its effect on natural medicine services in indigenous and Western cultures and implications for facilitators;
• Cultural equity, its relationship to health equity, and social determinants of health;
• Racial justice, including the impact of race and privilege on health outcomes and the impact of systemic racism on individuals and communities;
• The impact of drug policy on individuals and communities, especially underrepresented, marginalized, and under-resourced communities;
• History of systemic inequity, including systemic inequity in the delivery of healthcare, mental health, and behavioral health services;
• Intergenerational trauma;

2. Historical, Indigenous, Current Mushroom Practice

• Students will understand the use of sacred mushrooms by living indigenous peoples: the Mazatec people.
• Students will be introduced to the history of the Mazatec people and the use of sacred mushrooms.
• Students will learn about the factors that brought about the worldwide revelation of Maria Sabina and sacred mushrooms
• Students will analyze the current status of sacred mushrooms within the global psychedelic movement
• Students will propose ideas for fair and reciprocal relationships with indigenous peoples.

Mushrooms and End of Life Care Homework Assignment

• Students will be introduced to the use of psilocybin mushrooms during end-of-life care.

 

Webinars included:

• W8-1: Introduction and Welcome (34 mins)
• W8-2: Ceremonial Tools (1 hr, 53 mins)
• W8-3: Shamanic Journeying (1 hr, 55 mins)
• W8-4: Spirits, Deities & Archetypes (2 hrs, 10 mins)
• W8-5: The Medicine Wheel – The Seven Directions & Cannabis Journeywork (1 hr, 48 mins)
• W8-6: Seven Stages of Alchemy and Ritual Magick (1 hr, 23 mins)

 

• Enrollment closes 48 hours before the live class begins.
• Cancellations must be submitted no later than 1 week prior to the class start date to receive a 100% refund.
• No refunds will be issued for no-shows or same-day cancellations.

 

 

Course Facilitators

Daniel McQueen, MA is the Executive Director and Lead Educator for Medicinal Mindfulness Academy and Psychedelic Sitters School. He serves as a Psychedelic Specialist Guide with the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness and is a Professional Psychedelic Chaplain with the IDMT Church (DMTx Project).

Daniel is the author of Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness. He holds a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University (2012).

With over twenty-five years of transformational and healing arts experience, Daniel has immersed himself in a wide range of spiritual and psychological traditions, including advanced training in energy healing, transformational alchemy, and shamanic practices. He has studied directly with legacy psychedelic practitioners across multiple lineages and modalities.

Daniel is trained in MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy through the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS, 2011). He is certified in CPR and trained in end-of-life Hospice support, psychedelic mental-health crisis intervention, and suicide-intervention protocols.

Dr. Osiris García Cerqueda is an Indigenous Mazatec historian and sociologist from Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, Mexico. From a very young age, he has dedicated himself to the study of the history of his community and the practice of the ancestral ritual with psilocybin mushrooms, of which Maria Sabina was renowned. In recent years, reciprocity and restorative justice are the basis of his work of conducting a needs assessment in his community and developing activities to strengthen the Mazatec bioculture. He is the author of the book Huautla tierra de magia, de hongos y hippies [Huautla land of magic, mushrooms, and hippies] (2014) and the independent magazine, Mirador Mazateco (2010–2015). Osiris seeks to raise awareness about the impact of the Global North on the Mazatec people in this new wave of the psychedelic renaissance. He is Program Coordinator of Chacruna’s Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative of the Americas (IRI).

 

 

Kyle Sullivan, PhDc
Kyle is a development practitioner, educator, and Ph.D. candidate in Education and Human Development whose life’s work centers on the transformational potential of compassion. With over 15 years of experience across higher education, healthcare, and spiritual care, Kyle supports people in navigating the complexities of healing, growth, and identity with deep presence, relational integrity, and creative clarity.
Trained in trauma-informed care, somatic therapy, and psychedelic-assisted healing, Kyle brings a rare combination of academic rigor and embodied wisdom. His research explores how compassion, moral development, and liberation intersect in systems of care and how we can create conditions for all beings to move beyond simply survival and into lives of flourishing. As a credentialed psychedelic guide, ERYT-500 yoga teacher, and certified mindfulness facilitator, he integrates science, spirituality, and justice in service of whole-person transformation.
Born of lived experience and shaped by diverse communities, Kyle’s work is guided by the belief that each of us carries the seeds of healing, courage, and connection. He partners with others to reclaim that wholeness through education, therapeutic support, and collective practice. His calling is clear: to cultivate spaces that restore dignity, agency, and belonging, and in doing so, help create a more compassionate world for all beings.