A sweat lodge being prepared in Cornville, Arizona.

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

Last night, Gary Tuchman and I were sitting inside a hot, dark sweat lodge with 11 other people.

Members of various Native American tribes in Cornville, AZ wanted us to see what a sweat lodge was all about, and it’s importance to their culture.

The lodge itself is constructed of willow branches, tied together and sturdy enough to hold several coverings and finally a tarp. Inside, there are hot rocks, placed inside a hole and water is poured on the rocks to increase the heat. The space inside is very small.

We all sat shoulder-to-shoulder as various Native American songs were sung and prayers were voiced.

The people here are worried that the tragic deaths of two people in a sweat lodge near Sedona last week is going to destroy what they consider to be a very important part of their culture.

Self Help guru James Arthur Ray, held what he calls a spiritual warrior retreat, charging close to $10,000 dollars for several days of activities - including a sweat lodge experience. Two people died and many others were hospitalized when something went terribly wrong. Investigators are looking into what caused the deaths.

The Native Americans inside our sweat lodge were also angered that people would do what they consider spiritual as part of a money making event. To them, a sweat lodge is very spiritual, steeped in tradition and is not something to be exploited.

In this rare instance they invited us in so they could show the world how important this ritual is to their culture. Gary Tuchman will have our story on James Ray and the sweat lodge deaths tonight at 10 p.m. ET.