Purpose-

To assist audience in understanding about the unique relationships between Native Elders and their community members. Native Elders, traditionally, are held in high regard by community members. In most tribes, Elders are granted deferential treatment by their respective communities. Elders understand and can communicate the circle of life to the audience and what that means to our Native communities. If that circle is broken, by opioid, other substance use or by mental illness, then, our communities will come together to hear from Elders as to how the circle can be mended. Elders can educate the audience and other Elders from other communities with their own experiences and approaches to use of Medication Assisted Treatment and culture. The use of MAT and Native American traditional culture has worked in some tribal communities to assist in healing and helping.

In addition, another approach to working with Native and other communities is through developing and maintaining a grass roots approach to address the opioid issue in Indian Country. Colin Cash, Sober Squad founder, states that this grass roots group holds recovery walks, recovery meetings, pizza dinners and transports people to and from recovery meetings. They also have a Facebook page/blog that assists others to consider and maintain recovery by expressing unconditional love, no judgements and support from other members in recovery. “Never underestimate the power of someone in recovery who wants to give back,” said Colin. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Sober Squad. You are what recovery looks like. (Excerpt from Brainerd Dispatch).

Presenter-

Colin Cash, a tribal member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, founder of Sober Squad, a grassroots organization with over 6,500 members, that assists other people with recovery and healing. This recovery movement began on the Mille Lacs Reservation and has expanded across the state of Minnesota, onto other reservations and towns.

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