NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF
The International Center for Spiritual & Ancestral Wisdom
(NAC of ICSAW)
The International Center for Spiritual & Ancestral Wisdom
(NAC of ICSAW)
Sacred Medicine Stewardship, Preservation & Religious Practice
The Native American Church of the International Center for Spiritual & Ancestral Wisdom (NAC of ICSAW) is dedicated to the respectful preservation, stewardship, and continuation of sacred plant traditions within a religious and ceremonial context.
Rooted in relationship with Indigenous Elders, spiritual leaders, ancestral traditions, and the Earth, the church recognizes that sacred medicines are not commodities. They are living relatives whose care carries spiritual, cultural, ecological, and generational responsibilities.
Through preservation, cultivation, education, ceremony, and advocacy, NAC of ICSAW seeks to help protect these sacred relationships while honoring the traditions and communities from which they come.
ADAM'S JOURNEY WITH PLANT MEDICINE PRESERVATION
Adam's relationship with sacred plant preservation has developed over decades through his relationships with Indigenous Elders, spiritual leaders, communities, ceremony, and the land.
His work eventually brought him into a significant legal confrontation in Arizona concerning his religious practice and the sacred plants in his care.
After several years of legal proceedings, the state charges against Adam were dismissed in September 2023, and plants that had been seized were returned.
Rather than allowing that experience to become the endpoint of the work, Adam has continued his commitment to sacred medicine preservation, education, advocacy, and responsible stewardship.
The experience strengthened his determination to help create greater understanding between ancestral religious practices and the contemporary institutions and legal systems with which Indigenous spiritual traditions sometimes intersect.
LOOKING FORWARD
The long-term vision includes creating and maintaining places where sacred plants can be sustainably cultivated, propagated, protected, and cared for within an appropriate spiritual and ecological environment.
It also includes education, preservation initiatives, partnerships, and relationships with those who share a sincere commitment to protecting sacred plants and the cultural traditions connected with them.
This work is ultimately about more than preserving a species.
It is about preserving relationship—between people and plants, ceremony and community, ancestral knowledge and future generations, and humanity and the living Earth.
