Three fatalities in an incompetently conducted “sweat lodge” held at Angel Valley Retreat Center three weeks ago have cast a spotlight on the spiritual industry in Sedona and the commercialization of native tradition. While Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh is leading a homicide investigation against self-help guru James Arthur Ray, whose five-day “spiritual warrior” seminar was meant to culminate in the ceremony borrowed from native traditions, Native Americans in and around Sedona are expressing outrage at the defilement of their culture.
