Academia Anthropology

Big, Squeaky Clown Shoes

February 27, 2023 by David 110 Comments

Come, let us peek at progressive academia:

Students at Syracuse University… have access to an indigenous healer who burns sage and interprets dreams.

Lower those eyebrows, you cynical bigots.

Diane Schenandoah does not have any formal medical training to assist students, instead she has multiple art degrees,

Stop it at once.

including one in three-dimensional art from Syracuse University. She currently is hosting a series of “meditation” sessions along with her monthly “moon sessions,” according to the university.

See, multiple art degrees. And moon sessions. And – and – “intuitive energy work.” Why, she’s the fourth emergency service.

Ms Schenandoah, it turns out, is a Faithkeeper of the Wolf Clan, and skilled in ways of healing “negative energy,” with tuning forks and smudging – that’s burning tobacco and sage, obviously:

You might smudge with sage when moving into a new home, when you feel the energy of your current space needs to be cleansed or balanced, or simply when you feel that something might be “off” about any space you occupy.

Apparently, it’s also a tool for enhancing self-awareness.

Though such bleeding-edge healthcare works best in conjunction with other indigenous technologies:

Understanding the history of the land you occupy can help you identify where any negativity might be coming from.

That way, you can purge any unhappy “presence” or “lingering energy.”

Creating airflow throughout your space can help the energy exit the environment and invite new energy in.

Armed with such arcane skills, Ms Schenandoah – whose job description is curiously vague – provides “a safe space where Indigenous students can cope with stress and trauma.” Yes, the trauma of attending one of the more expensive and statusful colleges in America, with its annual fees of $70,000, its 920 acres of rolling lawns, its 20 tennis courts, and a capacious ice-skating pavilion.

However, the university cautions that, while undoubtedly potent, sage-burning and tuning forks may not be the answer to every ill:

If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency or you are in immediate danger, call 911.

Update, via the comments:

A Campus & Community news bulletin – in which the word “Indigenous” is used many, many times – tells us that Ms Schenandoah will be helping students “bring forth their own potential” via “a wide range of healing modalities,” including the aforementioned tuning forks. Those touched by Ms Schenandoah’s uncanny powers will learn that the forest is “a relative, not a resource,” and that birds “sing in the morning because they’re happy.”

Quality stuff.

Previously at the intersection of wokeness and woo.

 




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