Wellbriety
Angela grew up erased from her Sicangu Sioux identity, teased for her heritage in a Maine classroom. Years into recovery, she found something crucial missing until Wellbriety connected her to Native s…
Topic
Cultural Recovery
Recovery rooted in culture and identity — Wellbriety, Indigenous pathways, and braided services that honor traditional healing alongside modern recovery.
8 stories
Recovered, with April Tomah
April Tomah of Milford is a Passamaquoddy mother of three who calls herself recovered. She chairs the Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance and works for Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness.
Generational Noor
When Amran Osman's brother died from an overdose, she realized her Somali community stayed silent about substance use disorder. Fear kept people from seeking help. Now the 24-year-old is breaking that…
A Cultural Connection Drives Personal Transformation
Steven Knockwood is four years into recovery and manages Opportunity House, an Indigenous men's recovery home in Bangor. Reconnecting with his culture and ceremony helped him find who he is.
Melody Rose Paul
Melody Rose Paul is a published author who works full-time and leads a weekly Wellbriety meeting. She surrounds herself with friends who feel like family and keep her accountable.
Maulian Dana
Maulian Dana is the Penobscot Nation's first Tribal Ambassador. She stopped drinking on June 4, 2018, and calls it the best thing she has ever done for herself.
Braided Services
Rhonda Decontie watched her father weave traditional singing and prayer into 12 step meetings, teaching her how culture and recovery belong together. Now, as clerk of the Penobscot Nation Healing to W…
The Wellbriety Movement
Don Coyhis spent a decade in recovery, then felt called to do more. In 1988, he founded White Bison to address alcoholism in Native American youth. That vision grew into the Wellbriety Movement, which…