Visions of Hope & Healing in Native Communities
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day — Oct. 10, 2022 — the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s DEI Committee brought together American Indian/Native American leaders in the treatment and recovery field for an engaging conversation about culture, communities and health equity. Participants shared inspirational stories of recovery, perspectives on the historical and contemporary factors contributing to substance use disorders in Native communities, and visions of culturally attentive approaches to healing.
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About the Presenters
Heidi Christensen is an Alaska native who works for the Cook Inlet Tribal Council as a cultural peer supervisor, where she shares cultural knowledge, values and traditions in the recovery services department. She is also a beading teacher. Heidi has been working in the recovery services field for the past five years.
Celina Mahinalani Garza is Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), Portuguese, Mexican-Native American (Texas). Currently, she is the coordinator and facilitator for the Native Strong Men project, a health and wellness program held 100% online that launched July 2020 and recruited 180 Native men across the country to actively participate via Zoom classes/groups. She is also the founder of Native Lifeway. Celina specializes mind/body transformational psychology and traditional ecological knowledge. She is an energetic motivational facilitator who integrates cultural traditions, spirituality, holistic modalities, movement as medicine, and positivity to motivate people from the inside/out.
Sarita McGowan, EdD, a member of the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, is a substance use disorder counselor at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, and a person in long-term recovery. She has worked within the California Department of Corrections as a chaplain supporting both Native Americans and transgender people; and at the Urban Indian Health Center in L.A., serving a population mostly unhoused and living with the impact of jarring health disparities and generational trauma.
Cecelia Jayme , MBA, NA, LADC, came to Hazelden Betty Ford as an intern from the LCO Tribal College and has remained with the organization for the duration of her career. Her focus has been on ensuring substance use disorder services are available for women and the BIPOC community. She is currently the director of clinical services in Center City at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
Daisy VanSlyke is a Citizen of Cherokee Nation is the clinical manager of recovery services at Cook Inlet Tribal Council. She grew up on Potawatomi Nation tribal land surrounded by her culture and learned from a very young age the Native Model of Wellness, both personally and professionally.
Andrew Williams (Host) is the director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
This discussion was originally broadcast for an internal audience at Hazelden Betty Ford. Participants granted permission for it to be shared publicly and included in Hazelden Betty Ford’s monthly Recovery Advocacy Update. If you’d like to receive our advocacy emails, subscribe today.
