The first study, by Best, et al is a cross-sectional survey, examined PAT awareness and perceptions among 85 cancer patients in Aotearoa, New Zealand, with an emphasis on including Māori participants (n=32). The study utilized validated instruments such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and the Hua Oranga, a holistic wellbeing measure for Māori and Pacific peoples. Disparities were significant, with health inequities revealed, evidenced by Māori participants having poorer psychosocial wellbeing across domains, although underlying structural determinants of health (social, economic, and political conditions that shape health outcomes), disproportionately impact Indigenous populations and stem from ongoing colonial impacts. Two areas were measured (awareness and openness to PAT); overall awareness was low, but greater awareness was associated with more favorable attitudes and a greater willingness to use PAT. The openness increased among those who prioritize effectiveness and those with more advanced cancer. This shift may indicate risk-benefit calculation when the clinical need is present. The findings highlight the need to prioritize Indigenous sovereignty in PAT development. It is essential to integrate culturally grounded frameworks that ensure Indigenous governance and participation in the development, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives.
The Second Study applied conceptual commentary, developing an ethical and governance model (grounded in UNDRIP) to inform the integration of Indigenous Knowledge Systems into psychedelic science. Authors explain the historical extraction and enduring effects; it has been a continuous, ongoing act of dispossession (including biopiracy, intellectual appropriation, and non-consensual research practices). Critiques reductionist biomedical models for the extraction of isolated elements from healing types (ceremonial, ecological, spiritual). A call for reciprocity and reparations and FPIC (Free, Prior, Informed, Consent), complete structural reconfiguration with Indigenous co-leadership, co-authorship, benefit sharing, and legal protections (e.g., Nagoya Protocol). Also advocate for Indigenous models that value community-based, relational healing, and inclusion of spiritual practices as foundational and central to therapeutic efficacy, positioning requirements for ethical psychedelic justice and relational accountability for ethical psychedelic policy and research.
The Third study conducted a Qualitative study with semi-structured interviews grounded in an Indigenous-led, sovereignty-centered approach, structured using Kaupapa Māori methodology. They had 16 Māori healthcare professionals and students in Aotearoa New Zealand and found the following themes: greater awareness of PAT led to greater openness, Māori holistic health frameworks have potential to align (e.g., spiritual, relational wellbeing), a need for PAT education and research to expand, and the importance of ensuring access for Māori. Māori participants expressed greater concerns about PAT, possibly linked to historical (and ongoing) structural inequities, including criminalization and distrust of Western research practices. PAT is seen as compatible with Te Ao Māori and with holistic and spiritual constructs. Barriers include cost, access, stigma, policy constraints, and a lack of a culturally aligned delivery structure. Advocate for culturally safe care, with priority governance by Māori, including whānau (family) and cultural support roles. PAT has potential for an Indigenous health framework combination, but the integrative practice risks reproducing structural violence if Indigenous leadership, consultation, and community-centered system design are not used.
The fourth study was a series of detailed interviews with 16 healers from 9 distinct Amazonian cultures, using a systematic approach to identify explicit thematic meanings within the textual data and the theory design, thereby positioning Indigenous healers as primary knowledge producers. This study also provides detailed documentation of Indigenous psychedelic methodology. It demonstrates the centuries-long sophistication, in contrast to or exceeding Western clinical protocols, including practitioner training, adverse-effect management, and safety assessment. They position the plant as a conscious teacher rather than a chemical resource.
