Smudging, a traditional Indigenous practice involving the burning of sacred herbs, is an important part of life for many Indigenous students at the University of Michigan. However, students say logistical hurdles and visibility of law enforcement at smudging ceremonies create an atmosphere of surveillance and restriction rather than support.
Smudging was exempted from the University’s tobacco ban in 2022 in accordance with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978. The policy allows smudging in all outdoor spaces on campus, but indoor ceremonies require prior approval.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA junior Elladiss Fuge, co-secretary of the Native American Student Association noted the logistical hurdles undermine the University’s stated commitment to supporting Indigenous students.
“Michigan’s smudging policy treats it as a fire hazard rather than a fundamental human right,” Fuge said. “It imposes unnavigable restrictions, forcing students and faculty alike to submit formal requests at least two weeks in advance to the Department of Environment, Health and Safety — detailing the exact date, time, duration and location of the smudge — only to face the possibility of rejection or excessive regulation.”
Under current policy, anyone planning to smudge must first contact a building manager for approval before submitting an online request to EHS at least two weeks in advance. EHS will then conduct a safety assessment, coordinate with electricians to temporarily disable smoke detectors and may require a designated fire watch guard trained in fire extinguisher use to be present and be able to see the person performing the smudge ceremony at all times.
LSA sophomore Lily Garrett, the social chair of NASA, said in an interview with The Daily there is a deeply personal aspect of smudging in Indigenous culture, explaining how the practice often becomes necessary during times of hardship.
“It’s burning sage, usually in a shell, and it just represents cleansing your spirit, so we’ll do it at certain events,” Garrett said. “You put it over you and you cleanse your spirit. (It’s) for special things or if you feel like you need it, like if you’re going through a hard time. … Yesterday a friend was just telling me how he had a week of finals and felt that he really needed to smudge that week, but if you need to book it weeks in advance then it can just make it really hard.”
While Fuge has heard of smudging requests getting rejected, specifically in Michigan Housing, University Fire Marshall Andrew Box said in an interview with The Daily that no smudging requests have been rejected since 2023, possibly before.
For students living in campus housing, which prohibits items including candles, incense, burning sage and diffusers, Fuge believes smudging becomes nearly impossible.
“Smudging is effectively banned, with University housing regulations prohibiting the possession of sage and other sacred materials related to smudging,” Fuge said. “By confining smudging to rigid institutional structures and business hours, the University not only strips Indigenous students and faculty of their ability to engage in their traditions freely but also reinforces a long history of colonial control over Indigenous spirituality.”
In addition to policy restrictions, students say visibility of law enforcement at ceremonies contributes to an atmosphere of surveillance. Fuge recounted a November 2023 smudging event at Alice Lloyd Residence Hall’s Vicky Barner Multicultural Lounge, where the presence of a Division of Public Safety and Security officer was felt by attendees.
“Having submitted the required smudge request two weeks in advance, a DPSS officer I did not recognize stood at the entrance, gripping a fire extinguisher and watching in silence,” Fuge said. “He didn’t acknowledge or interact with anyone from what I can remember. His presence was heavy and uncomfortable.”
Box highlighted that these safety protocols are necessary as regulated by Michigan law.
“As long as they can get people in the proper locations to manage the fire safety systems in the buildings then we can accommodate that request,” Box said. “The University also has to meet regulatory compliance with the state of Michigan fire services. … There’s a lot of heavy lifting on the front end of these requests. Our resources are limited and smudging on a daily basis — that could pose some challenges as an availability of staff to accommodate those requests, so it’s not that we don’t want to and, to the best of my knowledge, we’ve not denied an application from the standpoint of availability.”
Box said in addition to meeting state fire code regulations, the University tries to avoid false fire alarms, which could trigger emergency responses and incur fines.
“We’re very fortunate within our university community that our fire and life safety systems are extremely sensitive,” Box said. “Anything that you think would be minor; it still can pick it up. … If a fire alarm activates, there’s a high percentage that DPSS … would respond to verify the fire alarm. There are occasions where the city of Ann Arbor fire department has responded to what they refer to as a false alarm and that results in a $250 fee for their services.”
Melissa Overton, deputy chief of DPSS, noted that officer presence at smudging ceremonies often stems from third-party complaints.
“We frequently get contacted,” Overton said. “A lot of people call us for complaints and we get complaints in dispatch and have to send an officer for somebody just smoking on campus. Even though the University enforces that, we don’t, but we do get called and have to respond to calls for service. If we get called, we don’t deny it. We respond. That may be another incident that (police presence) came from a third party or it came from a complainant, and not from us.”
Daily News Editor Emma Spring can be reached atsprinemm@umich.edu.
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