Darkness, Land, and Capitalism: An Indigenous Critique of Darkness Retreat Center Website Marketing

The darkness retreat industry is an emerging aspect of the holistic wellness tourism market. Darkness retreat centers provide clients with extended stays of four to seven days in rooms completely devoid of light. These centers assert that immersion in darkness enhances one’s physical and emotional health. Some practitioners report experiencing spiritual epiphanies after confronting fear and challenging emotions while in the dark. As a form of chamber rest, darkness immersion represents a new area of psychological research, and the full benefits and risks remain to be understood. In Eastern and Indigenous cultures, darkness immersion is a component of spiritual and cultural practices. The darkness of night and the dark environments of caves are significant elements of Southeastern Native American ancestral cosmologies. Before their forced relocation to Indian Territory, caves were passageways to the underworld, adorned with artwork, and engaged through strict protocols. Darkness retreat center websites highlight the cultural and ceremonial origins of darkness immersion to attract clientele. However, most of the owners of these companies are white Americans and Europeans. This article presents findings from a qualitative website content analysis of 15 darkness retreat centers to assess how they commodify Eastern and Indigenous knowledge. The analysis of darkness as an Indigenous knowledge is drawn from interviews conducted within the researcher’s tribal community, the Chickasaw Nation. The Chickasaw Nation Homeland is located in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky. Caves are culturally significant geographical features of the Chickasaw homeland. Findings from the website content analysis were presented to key Chickasaw Nation scholars to build a new critique of the darkness commodification from an Indigenous studies lens.