“Plants are not just ‘cultural resources.’ Plants are our relatives. They’re to be treated with reciprocal respect.”
-Craig Torres (Tongva)

The sage wands you see for sale and the smudging you see in mainstream media do not represent the true cultural context of white sage (Salvia apiana). Indigenous people in Southern California and northern Baja have tended white sage­ populations for thousands of generations. Referred to lovingly by some as “grandmother,” white sage provides much in return: medicine, food, ceremony, and beyond. The cleansing rituals seen in popular culture misconstrue and disregard the Indigenous context of white sage. Most glaringly, the white sage in many purchased smudge sticks is poached or questionably sourced—not tended and gathered with respect.

“White sage has this mystique as being the most spiritual of all plants in the world… Hollywood has really picked up on white sage as the go-to symbol for cleansing. ”
-Tima Lotah Link (Chumash)

How did white sage (Salvia apiana) go viral? Many native families ended up in California cities like Los Angeles through government work training programs (aka assimilation and relocation) in the 1950s. White sage, similar in many ways to sagebrush and other aromatic plants used in ceremonies back home, was adopted by relocated people. Its use then spread throughout Native America and attained a pan-Indian status. In the 1960s, the hippie movement co-opted the use of white sage and evolved into the New Age Movement. Use of white sage exploded along with it. White sage smudging is popularized in movies and television. Articles on the benefits of smudging and cleansing pop-up daily in newspapers and magazines, as well as on blogs, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites, mainstreaming its use.

The demand for white sage is massive and international

White sage is sold everywhere. You can buy sage products in trade shops, gift stores, New Age businesses, yoga studios, groceries and more. Online retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba and Etsy sell a seemingly limitless supply. Juniper Ridge, the “ultimate hipster bath + body brand,” according to product design coach Lela Barker, sells white sage products in stores across the world. With very few commercial growers of white sage (Salvia apiana), the vast majority of products are wild-harvested.

“Most of the stuff sold in the upscale trendy places was ripped out of the wild; whole hillsides stuffed into an old van and driven to San Francisco or Seattle or even New York so people can experience something.”
-the late Bert Wilson of Las Pilitas Nursery

There is a black market for white sage (Salvia apiana).

On a weekly basis, busts are being made on both sides of the border. In the Etiwanda Preserve, a staffed habitat preservation area in Rancho Cucamonga, busting poachers is a daily occurence. The rangers have confiscated upwards of 1,000 pounds in a single instance, stuffed into oversized duffel bags. Over 20,000 pounds are estimated to have been poached from Etiwanda over the last five years alone. The poachers who are caught and fined are often undocumented workers, used and sent by hidden profiteers who make $30-50 a pound. In northern Baja California, Mexico News Daily reports that Pai Pai and Kumeyaay groups are experiencing massive theft of white sage on traditional land, measured in tons.

Where does white sage grow?

The only place that white sage (Salvia apiana) occurs naturally on Earth is between Santa Barbara and northern Baja California. In this limited range are a slew of internationally famous cities, including Los Angeles, Malibu, Santa Monica, San Diego, and Tijuana. In the map above, blue dots represent white sage plants and the gray coverage represents development: almost 50% of white sage populations have been lost to urbanization. Populations that have not been destroyed or impacted by development are under threat from poaching, climate change, drought and intense wildfire. White sage is an important food source for bees, butterflies, birds, and numerous other forms of wildlife. Larger bees, notably carpenter bees, are the predominant pollinators of white sage.