News & Events
Treatment must be truly Indigenous
May 18, 2010
Boozhoo, Tansi, Ho Dakota, Han Dakota
We need treatment centres that are truly Indigenous, both in how problems are recognized and how treatment programs are structured. I was delighted to see Chiefs, attending a recent Southern Chiefs' Organization (SCO) summit, support West Region Tribal Council (WRTC) in its drive to establish a treatment facility.
WRTC wanted the support of SCO in lobbying federal and provincial governments for funds so it could review different models for Indigenous treatment centres in preparation for establishment of a WRTC facility.
The word "holistic" has become a popular term. To an extent, it represents the turn to Indigenous thinking. Our Traditional thinking has always been based on a holistic approach. Holistic simply means that you look at an entire person or an entire social system or entire environment, rather a focus on a single factor in isolation.
WRTC wants to establish a centre that would take into account the devastating intergenerational effects of residential school and address the root causes of the damage to people. The centre would utilize "holistic and Traditional Indigenous approaches created by, and for, First Nations peoples."
This holistic approach would be excellent and it is important that our people design and develop treatment programs. Only our people know what is involved in our lives and what must be included in recovery.
The approach being pursued by WRTC is wonderful. Hopefully, with this centre and perhaps others built in the future, we will develop the capacity to provide treatment as soon as it is needed. With addiction, delays can have deadly consequences for addicts and the people living with them.
However, even an excellent treatment centre can take addicts only so far. Treatment centres, if properly run, can deal with personal issues of body, mind, and spirit. That is where people heal, but treatment isn't the end of a person's journey. It is the beginning of a venture down a new path. Help will be needed along the way.
When people get out of treatment they are often filled with hope and enthusiasm, but eventually they want something more than just being able to stay clean and sober. For some people being free from addiction is enough, but most people want other good things from life.
Indian people, like everyone else, want to be able to work at rewarding jobs and to earn a living for themselves and their families. They want to see that the world will be good for them and the people close to them so long as they do things the right way.
I have seen many times where people come out of treatment fired up and willing to take on life as happy warriors, but then fall back as life pulls them down.
If they remain on their reserve, they may be stuck without a job and with no prospect of employment in sight. If they move to the city, the outlook isn't much different and they haven't even got a place to live. Either way, they are trapped by poverty. So are their families and many of the people in their social circle.
A holistic approach must also take into account people's needs in terms of work activity and financial livelihood. This is an issue that cannot be addressed through a treatment centre. It must be dealt with at the political and economic level.
Politics and economics are connected. A lot of the development must occur at the band level through projects, Treaty Land Entitlement settlements, and other actions. Treaty organizations and Tribal councils can also play a role. So can project partnerships among individual Indian nations.
SCO is also trying to play a role by encouraging, facilitating and undertaking development. During the last three years, we have established an economic arm, Danehco Inc. This gives us the ability to work with our Chiefs in undertaking initiatives that were not possible before. Danecho initiatives can also give our nations a degree of control that sometimes isn't there with government programs that are run through appointed boards.
SCO is also working to open doors for our First Nations. We will hold governments responsible for damages done in the past to the environments of our communities and traditional territories. Our actions in the legal system and on other fronts could produce substantial benefits for SCO First Nations. These benefits could be used to undertake economic initiatives that will produce jobs and wealth for current and future generations.
Again, even in isolation treatment centres produce many benefits, but for people and communities to reach their potential, economic progress is essential as well.
Pidamayepido, Ekosi, Meegwetch
Grand Chief Morris J. Swan Shannacappo