RELATED: Smudging as healing practice approved for St. Paul Public Schools Students can smudge during their lunch hour or in their Native American studies classroom with staff supervision required ...

“Smudging can sometimes be considered somewhat controversial because it is a Native American practice,” agrees Michelle Orwick, a spiritual activator and magical mindset coach.

About 50 people gathered in downtown Billings under Skypoint Friday morning to mark Native American Heritage Day. ... Native Americans hold downtown smudging to honor Indian boarding school survivors.

Prayers followed, with the blowing of a conch shell, then a set of Native American songs: a Chumash welcome song, a Lakota ...

Though Native American families have long known about the trauma of boarding schools and forced assimilation, the new reports and investigations have "woken up all our hearts and pains," Roy said.

The event opened with smudging, a drum song and a blessing of the "spirit plate" — a Native American prayer to give thanks for the plants and animals that serve as food.

The cultural event, open to people of all backgrounds, gives many a chance to escape everyday struggles and reconnect with Native American people they grew up with, or who are from other tribes.