Courtesy photo
A 38-year old SUNY Geneseo graduate of the class of 1993 died Oct. 9 from apparent suffocation after participating in a sweat lodge ritual organized by prominent self-help guru James Arthur Ray.
Kirby Brown was one of two persons pronounced dead and 19 others hospitalized after being taken from a home-made 415-square-foot chamber. The structure was less than five feet high in the center, made of a wooden frame, tarps and blankets, located on the grounds of Angel Valley Retreat Center, near Sedona, Ariz. At 15 minute intervals hot rocks were put inside the structure.
The ritual also ended up being fatal for 40-year-old James Shore of Milwaukee. The other participants who were hospitalized suffered from burns, dehydration, respiratory arrest, kidney failure or elevated body temperature. Before the ceremony, they had all fasted for 36 hours.
Around 60 participants were in the 415-square foot structure for nearly two hours before an E911 call alerted authorities that two persons were unconscious without a pulse.
Ray, a polished promoter who has been on Larry King and Oprah, claims to help people achieve spiritual and financial wealth. He rented the center for a five-day "Spiritual Warrior" retreat that promised to "absolutely change your life." Victims had paid between $9,000 and $10,000 to attend.
Police are now investigating if criminal negligence was a factor in the deaths.
Amayra Hamilton, owner of the center, stated that Ray has held the event for seven years, and there never had been any problems.
Brown, of Westtown, N.Y., was reported to be “in top shape” before participating in the ritual. “She had a focus on making the world more beautiful, not only with her art but with her heart," family spokesman Tom McFeeley said, adding “She was the least selfish, kindest person I knew.”
Sweat lodges were used by American Indian tribes for ceremonial purposes such as cleansing the body and preparing for hunts. An expert on American Indian sweat lodges stated that the actual lodges, unlike Ray’s, admitted only about a dozen persons and were made of permeable fabric to allow air circulation.
"If you put a lot of people in a restrictive, airtight structure, you are going to use up all oxygen," he said, “and if you're doing a sweat, you're going to use it up that much faster."
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
this is such a shame. fasting for a day and a half before a long crowded sweat is not proper. for sweat lodges, bigger is not necessarily better! during a traditional sweat, there are not so many people. the leader can keep an eye on everyone. not so in this case.
prayers to all involved in and touched by this tragedy.
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You got to wonder about people who would pay $9000 to lay around in the dirt and not eat for 36 hours. How ironic that many homeless people do this minus the nine grand donation. If they want to listen to someone speak about their greatness, go to church. Sorry that people died and were injured. It just seems a little to self indulgent to me. Just go on a camping trip in the desert in the middle of the summer and for get the cooled with the food and you would have the same affect. Oh and bring a bible and pray.
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Has anyone thought about the probable lack of acclimation to altitude for these people in these "low oxygen" conditions". Its common knowledge that the air is thinner at higher altitudes. Both victims were from" low altitude" geographcal areas. probably on vacation from NY and Wisconsin. Without acclimation to the thinner atmosphere, vacationers are going to naturally have more physical problems in "low oxygen conditions".
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