8 FEBRUARY 1, 2001
Smoke Signals
Nanitch Sahallie:
Empowering Youth to Recovery
Continued from front page
guidance, aftercare planning and
references.
Nanitch provides a living environ
ment for up to 20 young men or
women between the ages of 13 and
17 in early recovery from chemical
addiction. The living area consists
of an estimated 17,772 square-foot
residence. There are 10 bedrooms
and 12 bathrooms, a large dining
room, a living room and several
group meeting rooms, as well as bed
rooms for visitors and family mem
bers. The grounds area at Nanitch
provides room for recreational gar
dening, a basketball court and a tra
ditional sweat lodge.
Nanitch offers residents a choice of
education programs directed towards
high school credits or a general edu
cation diploma (GED).
Positive reinforcement of Native
American cultural and recreational
activities are an essential part of the
program. Learning how to replace
drugs and alcohol activities with fun
activities are important. Certified
staff members, their cultural special
ist staff and assistants as well as El
ders run all the activities from the
local Indian community.
The program will converge from
orientation, sober living and gradu
ate into aftercare recovery in their
community.
A traditional smudge begins a typi
cal day at Nanitch Sahallie.
The first week of the program is
orientation and is usually pretty
quiet. The students learn expecta
tions and find out about how their
behaviors are going to be measured
and monitored.
"It's attitude and behavior as well
as the work they do that is going to
indicate progress," said Henry.
The second week is measuring how
the kids are responding in detoxifi
cation. During this time, the physical com
plaints that the students have really
become apparent, said Henry.
"When you are dealing with addic
tion, you have to learn about how to
make attitude and behavior changes,"
said Henry. "The second week, what
we are really looking at is how the
students are beginning to wake up
from detoxification, and boy those
physical complaints that they have
really become apparent."
Some of the physical complications
that students have had are sinus in
fections, broken teeth and ear infec
tions. Also, they are nutritionally ex
hausted. "They are really very physically ill,"
said Henry. "They don't realize the
complications that they have when
they are on some sort of drug."
The young people then undergo
physical examinations, dental visits,
antibiotics and eye doctors if needed.
"We find out what they have been
covering up with their alcohol or drug
abuse," said Henry. "At that point
they have the interviews with our
medical director and physiatrist."
All of the information gathered is
Photos by Justin Phillips
put together, and then a treatment
plan is assembled to fit the needs of
the individual. The staff learns the
background and history information
to figure what are the major issues
at need.
"Many issues tend to be conflict
management, impulse control, abuse
to deal with that as either a survivor
or perpetrator and family issues from
abandonment to imprisonment," said
Henry. "During this week they do a
lot of individual interviews and a lot
of process groups to learn how to get
along with each other."
The third week is where conflicts
begin to happen. The young people
begin to feel the withdrawal from the
drug. The friendships made with the
kids quickly disintegrate amongst
each other.
"The kids are angry with the staff,
each other and their family," said
Henry. "We do a lot of anger man
agement and impulse control to hold
the students accountable for their
own anger."
By the fourth week, the kids have
usually earned the privilege for off
campus activities. The staff at Nan
itch stresses the importance in physi
cal activities, such as workout pro
grams and getting in touch with na
ture through hiking and exploring.
From the start of the program, kids
also have the opportunity to sweat
every week at least once if they
would like.
They also can have the services of
Lily Quick, who is an Elder that
teaches self-defense.
"She is 58 years-old and can kick
her leg higher than her head," said
Henry. "She is remarkable inspira
tion for the kids."
They also have the Grand Ronde
Elders come in and teach crafts.
"In the fourth week their thinking
is cleared up and they are actually
beginning to feel pretty good," said
Henry. "They have more contact
with the outside world and more real
honest to goodness therapeutic work
with their families."
The staff helps them work from
passive or aggressive to assertive
behavior. They learn the capacity
within themselves to be assertive and
they practice that in the fourth and
fifth week.
The fifth week the kids partici
pate in the right of passage gather
ings. They get to take a trip to Sil
ver Creek Falls for four days and
three nights.
, "It is a very spiritual kind of op
portunity for them to connect with
Mother Nature," said Henry. "They
build a sweat lodge and participate
in ceremonies and also do craft work.
There is a lot of informal conversa
tion as to what is it they will be leav
ing behind here and what is it they
will be taking with them."
The young people also have a medi
cine walk where they look at the di
rection and the gift that each direc
tion gives them and the strengths
that they are going to take with
them. They are asked to look at what
they have done in the past as a gift
that will allow them to grow.
"We want them to use their past
productively," said Henry. "We hope
they recognize that there may be a
time where being very aggressive is
good, and there may be a time when
being very passive is also good. They
need to know both of those parts of
themselves, but there is also pride in
being assertive."
After the trip, the kids have one
more week in a clinical environment.
According to Henry, change and
transition are not easy for young
people, as they have gotten used to
a place where it's clear about expec
tations, there's consistency and
safety. They have been able to de
velop relationships of trust. It is a
place where they plan goals and fol
low through on them. The staff
knows the secrets the kids once had
and the history of their lives.
"Sometimes that sixth week is
pretty intense," said Henry. "Kids
start echoing behaviors that we saw
the third week in treatment, a real
anger."
The seventh week is family week.
Part of the anger they see in the
sixth week sometimes has to do with
their family. Kids think questions
like: Are they going to come and see
me? Are they going to be sober? Are
they going to abandon me? Are they
going to support me or let me down?
"Helping them imagine themselves
successful at handling that is part of
5119 River Road N.
Keizer, Oregon 97303
Phone: 503-390-5904
Toll-free:
1-800-552-0939
Fax: 503-390-6973
Business hours:
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Intake Coordinator Bob Lewis
E-mail: bob.lewisgrandronde.org
Phone: 503-390-5904 ext. 2203