Smudging on Campus

Smudging is a ceremony using one or more of the traditional medicines (Sage, Sweetgrass, Tobacco, Cedar) which are burned to create a smoke to cleanse the body, mind and spirit. Smudging also clears spaces of any negative energies. Staff, students and faculty can request a smudge to be conducted for a variety of reasons, reasons can include but are not limited to:

• in advance of an event
• for personal reasons
• for a class
• to cleanse a space

Please refer to the Smudging Policy when planning an event where smudging will take place. All requests to smudge on campus must go through the Office of Indigenous Initiatives and Campus Safety and the ceremony should only be facilitated by an Indigenous person.

The OII and the University as a whole continue to work to both identify and create new spaces that may be smudged in at any time. In the meantime there is the availability to smudge at 4D if students are in crisis or urgent need.

It is recommended that the person responsible for the smudge has had previous experience conducting a smudging ceremony.

 Queen's Smudging Policy - Environmental Health and Safety (PDF 150KB)