Spoof Ad

For my Spoof Ad I choose not to target a specific company, but to address any and all companies that profit off of white sage as a product. In recent years, White Sage has become increasingly popular in mainstream consumerism. Today, you can regularly find White Sage bundles or “smudge kits” in local markets, holistic shops, and even big name retail companies like Walmart, Amazon, and World Market. This product is usually advertised as ethically/ sustainably harvested, which isn't always the case. According to United Plant Savers, Susan Leopold addressed in her article concerns amongst Native communities about commercial farming of wild White Sage and how the impacts of even “sustainable” harvesting of Sage is both unethical and concerning for the future of the plant. Although White Sage is not yet considered endangered, the survival of the plant is highly threatened by urban development and commercialization. Ultimately, there is a serious lack of cultural competency for ethnobotany in America and the lack of knowledge/ awareness leads to a further divide between understanding/ appreciating Indigenous cultures and appropriating them.

Mostly, when I see White Sage being sold it is either in a Smudge Kit or it is sold as a single bundle with minimalistic branding. The smudge kits are more blatantly appropriated, as they usually include (along with the Sage): an abalone shell, a feather, and sometimes a book on “how to smudge”; all of which are sacred and invaluable items and teaching in Native cultures. Further, the more modern take on the commercialization of Sage is less obviously appropriated, because of the way retailers market Sage as a product of wellness or cleansing. Not that smudge kits don't embody the same ideas and purposes, but when Sage bundles stand alone amongst holistic marketing people have a harder time seeing it as appropriation.

As I worked on this project, I knew that I wanted to address the light/ bright minimalist advertising techniques I was seeing to sell White Sage as clarifying and healing. I choose the black backgrounds because I think the darkness symbolizes the irony of selling an appropriated, almost endangered plant, as medicine. I really wanted this piece to almost be overlooked as not a spoof at all, by using the phrase “Cleanse Yourself” (which the concept of cleansing wouldn't be abnormal when selling Sage) and using imagery from a current Sage ad. I added the text at the bottom as confirmation that this isn’t an actual Sage ad which I hope is realized through a second glance. Before my research I assumed that Sage would not have been illegal to harvest, but heavily advised against by Native communities; however, in some places you can be fined and even arrested for commercial farming wild sage (which I found refreshing). The biggest issue that continuously arises in my mind when I think about the topic of selling Sage is, even if it is ethically grown and farmed would it still be appropriated or wrong to sell? In my Native community the act of burning Sage spiritually was not always traditional, it was given and taught to us by the Northern Tribes, yet since the introduction we have adopted Sage burning into our ceremonies and gatherings because our traditional Tobacco no longer grows in our territories. I was also taught that you shouldn't sell medicines or sacred plants because you don't know the person's intentions when they harvest. Reciprocity is a strong value in my Native Culture especially when gathering, making sacrifices when harvesting, is crucial to the process of having the plant work the way it should and living in balance with the land.

Works Cited

“Burning Sage .” Dreamtime , www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/purifying-ceremony.html.

Leopold, Susan. “What Is Going on with White Sage?” United Plant Savers, 18 Aug. 2021, unitedplantsavers.org/what-is-going-on-with-white-sage/.

“Sage Being Held.” Purnama Rituals, purnamarituals.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/DSC01146-scaled.jpg.