Spiritual Respect and Cultural Appropriation Policy

Spiritual Respect and Cultural Appropriation Policy
Guiding principles:
Each person’s spiritual experience is sacred to them, and worthy of respect.
Each group of people’s spirituality carries the same sacredness and calls for respect.
All beings are sacred and deserve respect.
SisterSpirit activities should always interface appropriately with ecosystems, cultures, and persons.
Ethical guidelines:
The Wiccan Rede, Threefold Law, and similar statements in other spiritual traditions are always to be considered in any interactions.
Specifics:
SisterSpirit members shall educate themselves about cultural appropriation.
Rituals shall be culturally appropriate.
This means:
Cultural rules and taboos should be respected.
Sites should be respected.
When cultural cross-over occurs (doing ritual in a tradition that isn’t one’s own) every, effort should be made to respect the originating culture and observe its practices.
Generally, this means those planning the ritual should be in touch with members of the originating culture and make sure things are appropriate.
This is especially important between cultures where appropriation has occurred and/or there is a history of exploitation, colonialism, economic injustice, etc.
Implementation:
SisterSpirit members planning rituals shall remind one another of these policies.
If someone thinks cultural appropriation is occurring, they can bring this to the attention of the priestess(es).
In the event of unresolveable differences over an issue, mediation may be recommended.
Please see attached paper discussing the issues.