Understanding The Native American Church And Peyote Ceremony

The property of the late Amada Cardenas, who was one of the first federally licensed peyote dealers, alongside her husband, to harvest and sell the sacramental plant to followers of the Native America

The Native American Church is a significant religious movement among Indigenous people in North America, centered around the sacred peyote cactus. Peyote, primarily found in southern Texas and northern Mexico, has been used for spiritual ceremonies and medicinal purposes by Native American tribes for centuries. It contains mescaline, a hallucinogenic compound.

U.S. laws passed in 1978 and 1994 permit federally recognized Native American tribes to use, harvest, and transport peyote. However, these laws do not extend to all Indigenous people in the U.S.