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Sage is being poached in massive quantities from Native land. Here's why
Download mp3 (9.46 MB)Coverage of tribal natural resources is supported in part by Catena Foundation
Joe Rondone/The Republic
White sage grows wild in San Bernardino County at the North Etiwanda Preserve in Rancho Cucamonga, just east of Los Angeles.
Sage is having a moment. You can find bundles of it for sale everywhere from Whole Foods to Amazon, Walmart to small boutiques.
It’s become popular to use it to smudge your home — a cleansing practice taken from Native American communities that have used it in religious practices for millennia.
Joe Rondone/The Republic
Ellen Woodward-Taylor holds a White sage stick cultivated on her land at Sage Winds Farm in Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif., a few miles north of the Mexican border where she has lived and worked for over 20 years.
But now, as sage has ballooned in popularity, journalists and activists are uncovering a dirty truth about the sacred desert plant: It’s being poached in massive quantities.
Debra Krol covers Indigenous affairs for the Arizona Republic and dove deep into the story in recent months.
The Show spoke with her to learn about the problem.
Joe Rondone/The Republic
White sage, or Salvia apiana, cultivated by Ellen Woodward-Taylor and her husband Ken Taylor of Sage Winds Farm in Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif., a few miles north of the Mexican border where they have lived and worked for over 20 years.
