One of the very important issues that Thayer addresses in her thesis, The Adoption of Shamanic Healing into the Biomedical Health Care System in the United States, is the appropriation of indigenous knowledge. 

Scent is like music to the sense of smell; evoking emotions, memories and imagery. It is the most abstract of the senses: we are often lost for words when trying to describe a particular scent. At best, we might compare it with other scents or associate it with a feeling, mood or with a fond memory.