Traditional Dance from Dayak ethnic at International Dance Day 2019 in Digulist Park, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo by Ainun Jamila on Unsplash
In Indonesia, kratom has recently been regulated as an export commodity, but it is outlawed for use among Indonesians. The Dayak Kalis indigenous people of Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan are particularly affected by these policies, as kratom is an integral part of their environment and a traditional medicine, as well as a way to earn income in recent years. The ambivalence from the Indonesian government – forbidding its consumption and threatening to ban it on one hand, and regulating it for trade and recognizing its economic importance on the other, clashes with traditional, centuries-old attitudes toward medicinal plants.
“Governing Kratom from an Indigenous Peoples’ Perspective“, a report published by Indonesia’s Community Legal Aid Institute (LBHM) in 2025, explores the traditional relationship the Dayak Kalis people have with kratom, as well as the recent complex legal problems surround kratom as both an economic commodity and a feared target in the “war on drugs” mentality.
According to the researchers, the main problem is that “indigenous peoples are the actors who best understand the functions, values, and risks of kratom, yet they are the least involved in policy formulation. The State positions kratom as an object of economic interest and legal control, whereas for indigenous peoples, kratom is part of an ecological landscape, a knowledge system, and a livelihood strategy passed down through generations”.
“The State primarily views kratom as an export commodity: valuable when traded, yet viewed with suspicion when embedded in local practices of use,” write the researchers.
Modern culture tends to see nature as an opposing force to be overcome by controlling or banishing various natural elements, such as psychoactive plants. Indigenous cultures in general, no matter what part of the world they come from, do not tend to view humans as external managers of nature, but rather as an integral part of it. Modern culture brings a dichotomy to certain natural elements such as psychoactive plants: at the same time they are trying to eradicate them, they are excessively exploiting them for mental or monetary profit. As coca tea is consumed openly without issue in parts of South America, the derivative cocaine is banished yet commonly used and abused in North America.
“We believe that indigenous voices can serve as an antithesis to outdated war-on-drugs policies and can encourage national leaders to adopt bolder positions in governing narcotics based on evidence,” write the researchers.
The concept of customary land owned collectively by the indigenous communities, rather than privately owned by individuals, exists in Indonesia. However, state law in Indonesia largely treats these lands as state-controlled forests unless communities go through a complex and often inaccessible process of official recognition. This creates a gap between lived reality and legal status, leaving many indigenous communities with insecure tenure over lands they have managed for generations.
Furthermore, customary territories are frequently designated by the state for other purposes such as commercial concessions, conservation projects, or regulatory control without meaningful community consent. As a result, indigenous peoples can be excluded from or even criminalized on their own land. This problem is intensified by the way forests and kratom are increasingly framed as economic commodities or regulated substances, which clashes with indigenous perspectives that view them as part of a broader cultural and livelihood system. indigenous communities being excluded from policymaking produces further top-down regulations that fail to reflect local realities.
The perspective that seeks to outlaw kratom “is strongly criticized by a Kapuas Malay indigenous Community figure, Itam Durni, who emphasized that kratom has been used since ancestral times as medicine and as part of indigenous knowledge systems. For Durni, kratom is not dangerous as long as it is properly managed; what is needed is clear regulation, not prohibition”, the study notes.
Durni also wants to see controls on buyers who sometimes use underhanded tactics to drive prices down, causing a volatility and uncertainty in the livelihoods of the Dayak Kalis people.
Durni advocates for a management model based on customary rules, including requirements for buyers and collectors to obtain permits. For Durni’s community, kratom is both a legitimate medicine and a lawful commodity, but one that must be managed properly: “This is medicine, not something to be treated carelessly.”