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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:22.0pt;color:black;text-transform:uppercase;background:white"><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_ca/article/59knjz/a-native-american-tribe-is-using-traditional-culture-to-fight-addiction">A NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE IS
USING TRADITIONAL CULTURE TO FIGHT ADDICTION</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;color:black">By <a href="https://news.vice.com/en_ca/contributor/zeke-spector"><b><span style="color:black;text-decoration:none">Zeke Spector</span></b></a> Mar 15, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;color:black"><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_ca/article/59knjz/a-native-american-tribe-is-using-traditional-culture-to-fight-addiction">Video here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: inherit"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">A year and half ago, Gabe Stewart stood in tribal court pleading guilty to felony charges because he stole money from his family to support his opioid addiction. In January, his
community honored him for overcoming addiction and watched as his case was dismissed entirely.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Stewart is a member of the Penobscot Nation in Maine, a state hit hard by the opioid crisis. American indigenous communities like his are also some of the hardest hit, with overdose deaths for rural American
Indians and Alaska Natives rising by <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/pdfs/ss6619.pdf" target="_blank">519 percent</a> between 1999 and 2015, more than double the increase nationally.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">When Stewart faced felony charges related to his addiction to Percocet, he was able to benefit from his tribe's unique approach to addiction. Recognizing that issues with substance abuse in native communities
often arise from intergenerational trauma, the Penobscot Nation attempts to reacquaint criminal drug offenders with tribal traditions and cultural practices to help them make a full recovery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Tribal members who commit substance abuse-related crimes can enter a program called the Healing to Wellness Court, which operates something like a traditional drug court but offers a cultural curriculum.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Participants receive services such as counseling, assistance with housing, regular drug tests, and check-ins with the court’s case manager. The 15 staff service providers meet bi-monthly to discuss the progress
of each participant, a coordination feat seldom found in larger drug court systems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">State-run drug courts do offer some similar services, but what makes the Healing to Wellness Court unique is the integration of Penobscot traditions and rituals into the program.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Guided by cultural advisers, participants are required to take part in activities that include sweetgrass picking, basket making, and sweat lodge ceremonies that offer both healing and spiritual benefits.
Because addiction can lead to isolation from the larger community, these cultural activities allow offenders an opportunity to reconnect with the community and embrace their identity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">VICE News followed Stewart on his last day in the Healing to Wellness Court.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:17.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:17.4pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:16.5pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:5.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Lauren<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt"><span style="color:black">Lauren van Schilfgaarde, Tribal Law Specialist<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><a href="http://www.home.tlpi.org/"><span style="color:black">Tribal Law and Policy Institute</span></a><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">8235 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 211<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">West Hollywood, CA 90046<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Phone: (323) 650-5467 ~ Fax: (323) 650-8149<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Email: <a href="mailto:Lauren@TLPI.org">
<span style="color:black">Lauren@TLPI.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:9.0pt"><span style="color:black">Please visit:
<a href="http://www.wellnesscourts.org/"><span style="color:black">www.WellnessCourts.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:9.0pt"><i><span style="color:black">Providing resources and technical assistance for Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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