Smudging

I originally wanted to post this as a reply to a post, but thought I'd better make a new one so that it's not completely overlooked and a bit easier to find!

Personally, I have no idea what native cultures this is relevant to other than the Cree, which I am and some of my closer friends. Although I don't personally smudge, or know how to on my own, I know that it is not a simple thing to pick up!

A lot of neo-pagans and witches pick up the term smudging, without really knowing anything about it other than waving white sage around in the air, which can be kind of offensive.
If you are interested in smudging, I encourage you to look into it more deeply than just the first article you come about online.
Some starters that I found somewhat reliable:

http://www.taosherb.com/store/sacred-herbs.html

https://asaliearthwork.com/2016/02/21/smudgingappropriation/

Of course a more reliable way to learn, would be to ask someone in real life who knows how. One way to see an article is not trustworthy is when it will says "the Indians" or imply that native people are extinct and do not carry on culture in the present.

On another note, if anyone here does have actual experience smudging, it would be great if you could drop a reply, or even message me!

Thank you

I do like the herbal information. So thank you very much for the links provided! Though I don't agree with cultural appropration in most cases. I don't believe anyone can claim an herb as exclusively theirs which is something I have heard tossed around a lot. I do believe in respecting other peoples culture and all but I don't believe anyone can dibsies anything and say no one else can have it because reasons! I could go on for like five paragraphs minimum but I think I will leave it at that.

I agree whole heartedly that a herb, is juts a herb and anyone should be able to use it.
I am dyslexic so I might not have fully understood the post but from what I got from it all it was saying is that we should be mindful of the herbs we use and what impact that has on the environment.
I mainly added in this link to put perspective onto the matter, I believe that no one should take an article word for word but instead use it to form more educated thoughts, which I should have definetly put in my original post so thank you.

While I'm online, I might as well share some links that talks about the significance of smudging and what it is, that i've found in the last few days.

http://powwow-power.com/smudging/ - this one I liked very much because it tells you a bit about each herb and different ways to do it.

https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/a-definition-of-smudging - I also like this one because it tells you a bit more about how to do it and what to expect, and how it's used in the modern day.

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/aed/publications/pdf/smudging_guidelines.pdf
-this is an actual school pdf, I thought it would be useful to add to this because it goes a bit more into detail, and provides some safety guidelines. It's also a reliable source.

Thank you for the additional information! And yes, that part I agree with 1000%! White sage for example is endangered so must be used sparingly and since there is garden sage and other forms of sage and other things with simular properties of sage there is no need to always and only go for it. It's like over hunting a particular animal to extinction and wondering why they aren't around anymore. This is why I am glad white sage, like some animals is being protected like where Tempest lives, if I recall correctly.