Purification Without Permission: When Ceremony Collides with Cancel Culture

 🔥 Purification Without Permission: When Ceremony Collides with Cancel Culture

In the heart of a decades-old men’s organization, a sacred fire was extinguished—not by accident, but by pressure, politics, and a storm of competing truths. The ManKind Project (MKP), known for its New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA), once included a Purification and Renewal Ceremony inspired by Indigenous sweat lodges. Today, that ceremony is gone from MKP USA’s weekends.

Why? We know the answer lies in a tangled web of cultural appropriation, cancel culture, and internal dysfunction—where competitive behavior often masquerades as moral clarity.

🧿 The Accusation: Cultural Theft or Ceremonial Legacy?

We know that accusations of cultural appropriation carry emotional weight and historical trauma. SPIRIT (Center for the Support and Protection of Indian Religions and Indigenous Traditions) launched a public campaign accusing MKP of conducting over 3,500 sweat lodge ceremonies, generating more than $58 million in revenue—without permission or compensation to Indigenous communities. They called it “the final phase of genocide.”

Their demands were clear: dissolve the Lodge Keepers Society, cease all use of Indigenous ceremonies, and enter a Truth and Reconciliation process with tribal leaders.

🛡️ The Defense: Permission and Adaptation

We know that ceremonial relationships are complex and often undocumented. Curtis Mitchell—a long-time MKP member and ceremonial leader—responded with a counter-narrative on SpiritProtect.org. He claimed MKP’s ceremonies were conducted with the blessing of Chief Mel Lone Hill, a respected Lakota elder. The sweat lodge was intentionally modified to avoid mimicking Indigenous structures, and the ceremony was never commodified.

Mitchell’s site argues that SPIRIT’s accusations are politically motivated, factually inaccurate, and spiritually harmful. He frames the sweat lodge as a universal masculine ritual, not exclusive to any one culture.

🧨 Cancel Culture’s Dysfunctional Grip

We know cancel culture doesn’t just call out injustice—it often amplifies dysfunction. SPIRIT’s campaign included publishing MKP event locations, encouraging protests, and calling for financial boycotts. MKP USA responded by canceling all NWTA weekends in late 2022 and eventually removing the purification ceremony altogether.

But this wasn’t just external pressure. It exposed internal fractures:

• Secrets: Concerns about cultural appropriation had been raised for years, but were ignored or suppressed.

• Lies: Conflicting stories emerged about who granted ceremonial permission and whether it was still valid.

• Powerplays: Leadership struggled to balance public image, member loyalty, and ceremonial integrity—often behind closed doors.

We know competitive systems reward secrecy, control, and performative change. They punish vulnerability and suppress emotional truth. In this case, cancel culture became a tool of competitive behavior—where winning the narrative mattered more than healing the relationship.

🧠 The Deeper Question: Who Owns Ceremony?

We know that ceremony lives in relationship, not ownership. Can non-Indigenous people ever participate in Indigenous ceremonies respectfully? Does permission from one elder grant universal access? And when cultural lines blur, who gets to draw them?

SPIRIT argues that sacred traditions must be protected from misuse. SpiritProtect.org contends that ceremonial relationships, once forged, are valid and enduring. Both sides claim to honor Indigenous wisdom—but they disagree on what that honor looks like.

🔄 Toward Truth and Reconciliation

We know accountability must be paired with transparency. Cultural appropriation is real and harmful—but cancel culture’s scorched-earth tactics can leave behind more confusion than clarity.

A better path might include:

• Ceremonial dialogue between Indigenous leaders and MKP elders

• Restorative justice that includes education, reparations, and mutual understanding

• Public truth-telling that honors complexity over simplicity

The fire may have gone out in MKP’s sweat lodge, but the deeper purification—the one that comes from truth, humility, and reconciliation—is still possible.