In September 2026, I had the privilege of attending the 2026 World Ayahuasca Forum in Girona, Spain, which the Etheridge Foundation supported as a sponsor. I returned home with a great mix of thoughts and emotions, centered around the message: We must enter a new time of alliance.
The Forum was designed to center the Indigenous leadership of various Ayahuasca cultures, bringing together leaders from across territories and traditions to strengthen relationships, share perspectives, and speak directly to an international audience.
While not all Ayahuasca cultures were represented in Girona, and perspectives amongst groups varied in some ways, there were overall themes that emerged from those gathered.
What the leaders shared was crucial and urgent, but also included an invitation to pathways of possibility and hope.
As interest in plant medicines grows worldwide, so does our responsibility to the communities that have stewarded this knowledge for generations.
Currently, the territories of Ayahuasca cultures are under an immense amount of pressure, including in many cases outright physical attacks. Many Indigenous peoples are struggling to protect their territories, cultures, and very existence.
Indigenous communities have been fighting against invasion by actors that poison and destroy ecosystems while engaging in extractive economic activities such as mining, logging, and industrial animal agriculture. While much of this activity is illegal, there is little to no protection from governments or militaries, and in some cases those entities are the ones perpetrating the abuses (including actions such as mass-spraying toxic pesticides from planes in lip service to the failed “War on Drugs”).
These Indigenous leaders and communities are struggling to protect the safety of their people and land, including the health of the soil, water, air, and habitats of the many non-human living beings. They are striving to protect the integrity of their cultures and ways of life.
At the Forum, Indigenous leaders reminded us that ayahuasca cannot be separated from the people, cultures, lands, and ecosystems from which these traditions come. It is a moral imperative to work together in alliance to protect Indigenous sovereignty and safety.
Additionally, their call was not simply for inclusion. It was for partnership.
Indigenous knowledge holders expressed a desire to help shape research and emerging systems of care – not simply to contribute knowledge, but to help explore and determine which questions are asked, how their traditions are approached, and who ultimately benefits.
For those of us working in research, philanthropy, healthcare, and the growing psychedelic field, it was a potent reminder that representation alone is not enough. Meaningful partnership requires listening, informed prior consent, and a genuine mutual relationship of respect.
It also requires understanding the challenges these communities continue to face – and recognizing each of our responsibilities, as individuals and organizations, in either contributing to those problems or working against them.
The future of these medicines cannot be separated from the wellbeing of their stewards.
Despite these serious realities, the Forum was also filled with extraordinary joy. Indigenous leaders spoke of stewardship, interconnectedness, and the sacredness of life, extending an invitation toward an alliance grounded in equality and mutual respect.
That invitation is something I am bringing home with me.
At the Etheridge Foundation, we are striving to continually build and strengthen relationships with Indigenous knowledge holders, and to integrate foundational principles deeply into our work. The World Ayahuasca Forum has sparked continued conversations about our own organizational guidelines – rooted in responsibility, mutuality, humility, and genuine partnership.
There is much work ahead and always much still to learn. I left Girona grateful for the chance to be a part of this gathering, and encouraged by what becomes possible when we learn to move forward together.