Abstract
Indigenous Peoples have cultivated and protected natural psychoactive medicines through ceremony, kinship, and spiritual responsibility across
generations, yet their long-standing contributions have often been marginalized through extractive research, commercialization, and policy
exclusion. It is Indigenous communities that have stewarded and gained expertise working with psychoactive medicines for centuries, yet
they remain underrepresented within the scientific discourse. This commentary advances the case for reciprocal and equitable collaboration
in psychedelic science, grounded in Indigenous sovereignty, cultural and intellectual property rights, and governance. Drawing on traditions
involving ayahuasca, psilocybin, peyote, and iboga, we illustrate how Indigenous methodologies, including ritual, community-based practices,
and ecological approaches, offer insights critical to both safety and efficacy. We argue that research and policy must embed free, prior, and
informed consent, equitable benefit-sharing, and Indigenous leadership. Such efforts require moving past tokenistic inclusion toward meaningful
collaboration and systemic change in psychedelic research that is both scientifically rigorous and culturally just. We conclude by calling for more
formal, transparent, and globally legitimate convening processes, such as those modeled on WHO global consultations, that can bring Indigenous
leaders, researchers, and policymakers together in dialogue. These steps represent profound acts of inclusion essential for these medicines to
realize their full potential to heal and transform.