r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/MelanieWalmartinez • Sep 01 '26

Video Students get smudged by indigenous elders for peace and blessings throughout the year

42k Upvotes

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366

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '26

[deleted]

489

u/gbakermatson Sep 01 '26

we all waited in the rising wind until he changed his mind

I'm getting "peer pressured into compliance" vibes from this.

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u/Ice_Cream_Warrior Sep 01 '26 edited Sep 01 '26

| We all waited after he said no to change his mind.

ah yes great example of respecting permission and why it either is a) performative and meaningless, or b) meaningful but we don't accept no. Community and showing of support is very important and can be hard to do without ceremony and religion, but even in the example wooden_minute can't see that it then wasn't really asking permission, because they then waited until the boy begrudgingly accepted.

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u/The_decent_dude Sep 01 '26

Honestly, that's how most consensus decisions work

16

u/Ice_Cream_Warrior Sep 01 '26

Oh for sure and with very good reason. I’m not looking to dissect that but felt worth while pointing out it felt like the person was making a specific point of spiritual ceremony being inclusive and only if accepting when in reality it isn’t and that feels like a common logical fallacy.

1

u/pizzaranch Sep 02 '26

God, reddit is so dismal. Y'all are such narcs lmao

0

u/FatiguedShrimp Sep 01 '26

It's how juries work.

109

u/SnugglyCoderGuy Sep 01 '26

That's because that's what it was. Once he said no, either move on or let the kid get out and not participate in the blessing, and then get back in.

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u/CanadianWazowski Sep 01 '26

Peer pressured into preforming a religious ceremony

45

u/Turgid_Donkey Sep 01 '26

Reminds me of that high school football coach that held prayer with the team. Several students said they very much felt pressured to participate and felt they'd be punished if not.

8

u/CanadianWazowski Sep 01 '26

My dad would’ve had a word with that coach lol

-2

u/420_69_Fake_Account Sep 01 '26

My dad’s lawyer would’ve had a word with that coach and superintendent.

41

u/Popular-Row4333 Sep 01 '26

I don't get this thread, Reddit is super anti religion, yet indigenous religion gets a pass for some reason?

38

u/According_Register55 Sep 01 '26 edited Sep 01 '26

For one thing, someone told exactly one anecdote and then the immediate response (OF WHICH YOURE A PART) was people criticizing the consent aspect of the ritual.

For another, most people haven’t been subjected to individual, group, and societal pressure to conform to indigenous religions the way they have with Christianity.

2

u/Empty-Presentation68 Sep 03 '26

Seems to me we are now forced to. If we don't accept it we are shamed and guilty of being racist anti indigenous colonizers.

11

u/no-thanks-thot Sep 01 '26

It's the underdog bias. Anything connected to norms, power, or the majority is verboten.

How else would one know a safe topic for use in virtue signaling?

7

u/kitkat2024 Sep 01 '26 edited Sep 01 '26

I am too baffled. What if it was Holy Water? What if they had them try on a hijab? Because they are learning indigenous practices, it’s okay?

2

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/pooppoopdoot Sep 01 '26

If the people asked for consent and only did it to those consenting, then it’s fine, like in this video.

I swear yall will find anything to get mad about lmao

2

u/kitkat2024 Sep 01 '26

If anyone tried to blow smoke on my kid. Make them walk around a rock, or throw holy water on them there would be hell to pay!

0

u/According_Register55 Sep 02 '26

Do your kids go to an Indian community school on a reservation?

-1

u/kitkat2024 Sep 02 '26

No, I grew up in Arizona, land of kachina dolls, sweat lodges and powwow’s. No one blew sage on me. If the had I would have punched them.

1

u/pizzaranch Sep 02 '26

Yikes dude get a life.

1

u/SunshineAlways Sep 01 '26

It’s an indigenous school in the post.

2

u/CanadianWazowski Sep 01 '26

Yeah. I treat all religions the same. No difference between this one and any other.

0

u/Ivoted4K Sep 01 '26

It’s almost like it’s not the religion that’s caused harm in our society.

-2

u/RonShreds Sep 01 '26

This is a practice, not a religion.

7

u/kitkat2024 Sep 01 '26

Blowing smoke to avoid bad juju? Not religious?

-4

u/Grawlix_TNN Sep 01 '26

I was brought up Catholic in Australia and over the years the amount of shame and judgement me and my mum got (she got divorced oh no clutch pearls) was insane. It put me off organised religion forever.

Aboriginal 'religion' in Australia is more about story telling, balance and caretaking of our world, and deep connection to the land. Lots of fables metaphors that are 100% relevant today, not hard line "you'll burn in hell if you don't show up to this building once a week and put money in a tin".

Indigenous culture across the world all seem to idealistically converge in this connection to nature, life, connection and harmony.

So yeah the 'some reason' is fuck organised religion that's been around for a few thousand years and exists to control behaviour. Give me a smoke ceremony anyway.

-2

u/The_Real_Chippa Sep 01 '26

What? The comment you’re replying to is getting tons of criticism

-3

u/Puzzle-Necked Sep 01 '26

How will they recover from the canoe smudging ?

5

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/Puzzle-Necked Sep 01 '26

Those weekly canoe smudgings

35

u/YourAuthenticVoice Sep 01 '26

Yeah, how is this ok?

24

u/Crooked-Grinds Sep 01 '26

It’s not

-2

u/Princess_Slagathor Sep 01 '26

Peer pressure may not be cool, but it is effective.

0

u/JustFourLetters Sep 01 '26

every religion does this tbf

0

u/NeighborhoodNo2921 Sep 01 '26

This is how it feels when you get selected on the jury panel. No one goes home until everyone agrees.

0

u/mckbookpro Sep 01 '26

Gimme a break. he's being prepared for jury duty.

0

u/Alex5173 Sep 01 '26

I mean, if you're on a sinking ship and everyone but you votes to get on the lifeboat and they stick around for you to change your mind I wouldn't call that peer pressure. They were apparently about to capsize into the rapids

80

u/YourAuthenticVoice Sep 01 '26

WTF??? So you made that kid sit there and know he was holding everyone up because he didn't want to participate?

That's fucked up. That isn't consent by any reasonable measure.

13

u/LeadConscious7599 Sep 01 '26

kid has to learn that he better conform or gtfo

68

u/EdenEvelyn Sep 01 '26

So your group collectively shamed him into agreeing to do something after he very clearly refused? Thats not compliance, it’s coercion and not something you should be proud of.

-17

u/Puzzle-Necked Sep 01 '26

Oh my god why is everything so dramatic on Reddit?

3

u/kitkat2024 Sep 01 '26

I feel any religious instruction should be approached be the parent. It has not been a bloc school decision since the late 60’s. It may seem harmless to you but it will let in others to participate too. Do you want your kid sprayed with Holy Water. To get rid of his demons?

-6

u/Puzzle-Necked Sep 01 '26

How about we just give the Native Americans this one, after, y'know, everything

2

u/Kagenlim Sep 02 '26

I mean the issue here is still consent

1

u/ThatOneGuy6810 Sep 01 '26

Honestly dude you're minimizing. In the story told, the mixed group of adults and children all waited for a CHILD to change their minds before they continued with thw activity, thisnis purely afults oressuring a child into something without consent and its VERY impirtsnt that people understand that.

-4

u/AimlessForNow Sep 01 '26

It's a couple sentence summary of that experience, there's no way there's enough context to judge good or bad but yes obviously if it were exactly as written, it's unethical. But it's also possible that they moved on and the kid changed his mind later? Or any number of other things that OP didn't mention

6

u/ThatOneGuy6810 Sep 01 '26

Op stated that they waited. And it doesnt really matter, its pressure from a group of people including adults on a child.

None of the rest of the "unmentioned" things even matter.

They "asked permission" and when they werent given it they pressured the person who ssid no until they did, nonverbal pressure is still pressure.

-2

u/AimlessForNow Sep 02 '26

Waited for what? Literally waited until he said yes?

2

u/ThatOneGuy6810 Sep 02 '26

Thats what the original comment said.

0

u/AimlessForNow Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26

I don't think there's enough context to make such a harsh judgement about the story, I could interpret it differently. I'm not disagreeing that peer pressuring the kid is wrong, I'm disagreeing with the interpretation of the original comment. People are getting upset over something that might not even be real, a single comma would've changed the meaning completely. I don't have enough evidence to make a judgment yet, call me an optimist

23

u/hectorsr3ctum Sep 01 '26

LOL that's not at all the same thing going on in this video. I assume she lets them go into the school if they're not okay with it. Not tell them they're holding up everyone from getting into school because they said no....

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you're trying to say I don't really understand the log part.

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u/tomfooleryshark Sep 01 '26

So he was peer pressured

7

u/CringyEmoKids Sep 01 '26

So you peer pressured a kid into doing something that he was uncomfortable with?

22

u/Sad_Air_820 Sep 01 '26

Peer pressured into agreeing to nonsense. Cool, cool, cool.

-16

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/Sad_Air_820 Sep 01 '26

Indeed. History is rife with ideology-driven nonsense being forced upon people. It's literally how I'm able to see this current nonsense for exactly what it is.

4

u/ValleyHospitality Sep 01 '26

Make believe superstition

1

u/Barneyboydog Sep 01 '26

Kind of like Christianity eh

1

u/ValleyHospitality Sep 01 '26

Yeah absolutely

1

u/krispydragon27 Sep 01 '26

a lot of people are making negative assumptions and maybe you’ll see my comment maybe not. were you guys already in the canoe? that’s what it seems like to me. and being a camp counselor i can see a couple ways in how this situation played out.

the way i understood your story was

-elder wanted to smudge the group and asked for consent -quiet kid says no -canoe trip continues -quiet kid has time to think ab it and says yes (assumption maybe they realized capsizing could happen and being a kid “i’m scared let’s try whatever) -log gets free after canoe is smudged group feels and believes in the blessing

A river expedition with kids and an adult close by? just from asking for consent i assumed this elder wouldnt tolerate peer pressure

0

u/Miami_Mice2087 Sep 01 '26

do you remember which tribe and what kind of herbage was burned? I'm a pagan, I'd just like to know what other aboriginal people burn for blessings.

-11

u/wyar Sep 01 '26

It’s almost like opting into spirituality is a better practice than forcing it on people. Fucking colonizers (my ancestors…)

10

u/Yogurt_Ph1r3 Sep 01 '26

While this is certainly more peaceful than the historical alternative, this is absolutely peer pressure and not really a free choice.

-7

u/wyar Sep 01 '26

The history of residential schools makes this seem pretty freaking mild in comparison to

6

u/Popular-Row4333 Sep 01 '26

Two wrongs don't make a right.

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u/Bored_cory Sep 01 '26

Gotta love the "whataboutism"