Voices of Healing: Honoring Indigenous Wisdom in Recovery and Wellness

In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, we honor Indigenous leaders, healers, and storytellers who remind us that healing is deeply connected to identity, community, and cultural remembrance.

For many Indigenous peoples, healing from trauma or substance use is not a linear path. It is a journey of returning to ceremony, land, language, and kinship. It is understanding that when one person heals, ripples of wellness can move through families and communities.

This month, we highlight five Indigenous leaders whose teachings illuminate pathways toward resilience, wellbeing, and connection.

Don Coyhis (Mohican Nation)

The Wellbriety Movement

Don Coyhis is the founder and president of White Bison, Inc. and the visionary behind the Wellbriety Movement, a cultural and spiritual approach to recovery rooted in the Sacred Hoop and the Four Directions.

“Wellbriety is living a life that is sober and well — a life in balance with the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.”

Be’sha Blondin (Sahtu Dene)

Land-Based Healing & Traditional Wellness

Be’sha Blondin is a respected Sahtu Dene Elder and healer with more than 35 years of experience in Indigenous wellness. She co-founded the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation and founded Northern Integrated Culture and the Environment (Northern ICE). Her work includes land-based healing, ceremony, traditional medicine, and community-centered wellness programs.

“Before I can heal that person, I need to know their story… I make sure they have a way of healing themselves first.”

Monique Gray Smith (Cree/Scottish)

Recovery Through Love and Story

Monique Gray Smith is a best-selling author, speaker, and consultant whose work centers resilience, truth and reconciliation, and culturally grounded healing. Cree and Scottish, she has been sober and active in her healing journey for more than 34 years. Her books and talks emphasize the importance of kindness, connection, and love as medicine.

“When we are kind, we remember we are all related.”

Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe — White Earth Nation)

Healing the Land, Healing Ourselves

Winona LaDuke is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) author, activist, and farmer from the White Earth Nation. She is known internationally for her work in Indigenous rights, environmental protection, food sovereignty, and sustainable development. Her teachings emphasize the relationship between ecological health and the wellbeing of Indigenous communities.

“The recovery of our people is tied to the recovery of the land.”

Dr. Darryl Tonemah (Kiowa/Comanche/Tuscarora)

Trauma-Informed Psychology & Indigenous Wellness

Dr. Darryl Tonemah is a health psychologist, educator, and musician of Kiowa, Comanche, and Tuscarora descent. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and Cultural Studies, a Master’s in Community Counseling, and multiple bachelor’s degrees. His work centers trauma-informed education, community wellness, and culturally rooted approaches to behavioral health across Native Nations.

“Trauma that is not transformed is transferred. Healing ourselves is how we change the future.”

A Continuum of Healing

Across these voices, healing is understood as relational and alive. It is carried in story, land, ceremony, and kinship. It grows through presence, shared knowledge, and the courage to remember who we are and where we come from.

If You Need Support

You are not alone, our peer support Warm Line is available nightly from 4 PM to Midnight at 360-903-2853.

In Gratitude

We offer deep respect and gratitude to the Indigenous communities and knowledge-keepers who guide healing work across Turtle Island and throughout Native Nations in North America. Their resilience, compassion, and teachings invite us to move toward balance — one step, one story, one breath at a time.