Substance abuse has surrounded the tribal communities for decades. Companies are now using culturally competent models incorporating tradition and customs to get people out of addiction and help them heal. There are companies with members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes who are building residential recovery centers with transitional living facilities.
Many residents have used the facilities to get treatments. The communities have been affected by drugs sourced from Mexico. The U.S. market has been flooded with thousands of kilos of methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl every year from Mexican cartels. American Indians are suffering from generational abuse leading to erosion of traditional values and destabilized families.
The addiction specialists suggest the abuse can be tackled by addressing patients’ cultural histories and experiences in treatment. It needs to be incorporated across the country consistently for it to benefit. The progress is slow as there is lack of appreciation for the method.
The basis of dicrimination is culture and one’s identity. This discrimination forms the foundation of illness, dividing people into 3 categories- people who develop the addiction, people who get treatment for addiction and people who do well in treatment.
The treatment has definitely helped them find a native American rehab center. While recovering the patients go through internal turmoil. Here is where the culture steps in to make them comfortable in finding their space, getting comfortable with who they are and what the future will look like for them and their families.
