Independent news from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance

Sedona resort sweatlodge: Two dead, three critical condition, dozens others ill

JT Shining Oneside shared stories about her Ojibwe and Anishinaabe inheritance during the Native American Heritage Month Celebration on Nov. 15. She spoke about the coming-of-age and traditional birth ceremonies. (Photo credit/ Adrianna Adame)
Sedona, Ariz. resort sweatlodge. Photo Courtesy ABC 15.com
Sedona, Ariz. resort sweatlodge. Photo Courtesy ABC 15.com

A pricey Sedona, Ariz., resort reportedly charged people up to $9,000 for a resort stay that included purification in a sweat lodge. The so-called ceremony, however, went awry when guests became ill inside the lodge. More so, two people died and three others were critically injured. It’s been reported that the lodge was roomy enough to fit up to 64 people. That’s a commercial-sized sweatlodge, a monstrosity the likes I’ve never seen. ABC 15.com quoted a man named Blackwolf, an American Indian spiritual leader, who said once you start charging people for spiritual enlightenment — and killing people, too — it is no longer a spiritual occasion. Blackwolf equated it to prostitution. See the story.

Jodi Rave

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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