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Controversies

Cultural appropriation

A question about power, consent and consequence — not about who is allowed to be interested.

ContestedModern

The questions worth asking

Who authorised this? Who profits? Does it misrepresent the source? Does it damage the community's control over its own knowledge? Does it happen while the source community is still denied the same practice?

  • Consent from a recognised community authority, not one individual
  • Where money and credit actually flow
  • Accuracy of attribution and representation
  • Whether restricted knowledge is being published

Documented positions

The 1993 Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality is an explicit, citable statement from a source community. It is quoted here because it is a primary document, not an opinion about one.

What this atlas does

Names sources, withholds restricted ceremonial detail, points to community-published material where it exists, and does not teach ritual technique.

Linked entries

One of 28 entries in the knowledge map. Evidence grades above describe the kind of claim being made, not its certainty on a single scale.