The wellness industry, often associated with mindfulness, healing, and personal growth, has increasingly turned to First Nations cultures for inspiration. From rebranded bush medicine to "Aboriginal healing" experiences marketed at luxury retreats and festivals, many of these practices are being used without permission, misrepresented, and commodified—raising serious concerns about cultural appropriation.
In Australia, traditional First Nations practices—such as smoking ceremonies, yarning circles, and bush remedies—are grounded in deep cultural and spiritual significance. They are inseparable from Country, kinship systems, and ancestral knowledge. Yet in many mainstream wellness spaces, these traditions are being stripped of their meaning, divorced from their communities, and sold for profit.
A particularly troubling trend has emerged in the festival scene, where Indigenous facilitators are increasingly being invited to deliver workshops, cultural activities, or Welcome to Country ceremonies—with little or no compensation. Often, these invitations are framed as "opportunities" for exposure or cultural exchange, with the assumption that visibility alone is enough payment. In reality, this practice amounts to exploitation.
While non-Indigenous performers, yoga instructors, and wellness coaches are regularly paid market rates for their services, Indigenous participants are frequently underpaid—or not paid at all—for sharing sacred practices and cultural knowledge. This creates a two-tiered system where First Nations people are expected to offer their labour, identity, and cultural authority for free, even as festivals profit from the cultural capital their presence provides.
This is not just unethical—it's harmful. The expectation that Indigenous people should be grateful for "exposure" ignores the long history of extractive relationships where Indigenous culture is taken, showcased, and commodified, while communities are excluded from decision-making and economic benefit. It also perpetuates the colonial myth that culture is a gift to be consumed, not a living, sovereign system of law and identity.
Festivals that use Indigenous presence as a branding tool—without proper consultation, payment, or ongoing relationships with communities—must be held accountable. Cultural engagement is not a box to tick or a marketing device. It requires respectful, sustained collaboration, and it must be led by Indigenous people on their own terms.
To move forward, the wellness and festival industries must acknowledge the value of Indigenous labour and knowledge, pay fairly for cultural contributions, and ensure that cultural authority remains with community Elders, knowledge holders, and artists. Healing spaces cannot truly foster wellbeing if they are built on extractive or exploitative practices.
True cultural exchange demands reciprocity, accountability, and respect—not appropriation or tokenism. First Nations communities have long been the custodians of holistic wellness practices. The rest of the world would do well to listen—but only if they're willing to do so ethically.
Emily Thornton is a First Nations writer, journalist, and musician with a deep passion for storytelling.
