Sometimes a question of cultural appropriation arises in talking about shamanism.

Cultural appropriation is an idea that comes from sociology and is when a dominant culture takes items from a minority culture and incorporates them. This is seen as a negative when items from the minority culture are reduced in meaning - like when they are made into toys or mascots

I do not believe that the vast majority of people practicing shamanism today are, in any way, participating in cultural appropriation.

Let's start with the word shaman. In English, "shaman" was borrowed from the German, which was borrowed from the Russian, which was borrowed from the Tungus people of Siberia. But the word has origins beyond the Tungus as well. We don't know if it was borrowed originally from Chinese or Pali. It may have come from Sanskrit before that, and who knows beyond that?

It has come to mean, in the West, a set of spiritual practices that have been practiced by nearly every culture on the planet at some point.

Core Shamanism bridges cultures

Most People practicing a form shamanism that hasn't been inherited from their own indigenous culture, practice something referred to as Core Shamanism. Core Shamanism is a set of spiritual practices, assembled by people doing anthropological and ethnographic research.

What these researchers found is that cultures around the world did a number of the exact practices. For example - shamans in every culture use sound - such as percussive rhythm - to drive trance. Shamans travel to spiritual worlds and form relationships with spiritual allies.

Cave art, thousands of years old, depicts shamanic states and practices. No one culture in existence today is the source of Core Shamanism.

Shamanism is everyone's birthright

The practices we know as shamanic appear to have been practiced in some form in every culture. From ancient Egypt to the Norse, to African, Celtic, Native American, and Asian cultures. No matter what your Ancestry.com DNA test tells you-you came from a shamanic culture. Perhaps you came from numerous shamanic cultures.

The spiritual technologies of shamanism are inherent in your makeup.

Some cultural practices and tools are universal

Think of the bow and arrow and the drum. They exist in different forms across almost all cultures. From the most isolated tribes of the Amazon to the Greeks and Romans to the Japanese - almost everybody has these same tools.

Trance is a tool of mind/body/spirit practiced across cultures as well. It can take different forms - from Buddhist meditation to Ayahuasca journeys in Peru. But altering the state of mind for spiritual practice is universal.

It's easy, in the US, to see people gathered in a drum circle, beating hide drums, and think that they are stealing a Native American ceremony. This is an image you may have been exposed to and linked with Native American culture. But, again, drumming and drum circles cross many cultures.

Shamanism is done with a sense of honor towards the sacred

The main argument about cultural appropriation centers on reducing the value of cultural items. Shamanism, as I have witnessed it, holds every practice sacred. 

I have practiced a Japanese martial art for decades. When we train, we wear kimono and obi. We bow in a traditional way, Japanese terms of respect are used, instructions are sometimes given. Before and after practice we bow to the kamiza - seat of the spirits. All of these practices are done with honor for the culture they come from.

Many years ago, I had the pleasure of training with and observing a number of masters who traveled from the Budokon in Japan for an exhibition. One very senior teacher was very excited to see that I held a practice sword correctly. Some of the archers gave arrows they had shot as gifts to visitors. These teachers were so happy to share a bit of their culture with those who respect it.

I think, when it's done with knowledge, permission, guidance, and honor, there are sacred practices that can be adopted. There are indigenous teachers out there who are happy to share their practices. And, I think, this makes the world better. 

Likewise, I will always honor taboos about sharing certain things with outsiders.

I will end with the first principle of Huna, as elucidated by Serge Kahili King:
A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka halau ho'okahi ,
"All knowledge is not taught in one school,"