People recovering from addiction can sometimes have to wait for weeks or months to get into a residential treatment facility to get the help they need. Those shortages are especially felt in tribal communities in rural states like Wyoming and Montana – and last summer, inadequate treatment centers in Arizona made headlines for conducting a widespread Medicaid fraud scheme targeting Native Americans. But, a ten-acre ranch recently purchased by the Eastern Shoshone Business Council will help make that transition a little easier for tribal members.
The Doya Natsu Recovery Ranch will provide a supportive place for people to stay while they’re waiting to go to a residential treatment program to help recover from addiction. The property comes with a main house that will be able to hold about four to six people as they transition into treatment, as well as a trained manager who can provide recovery support programming.
The previous owner of the ranch optioned the ten-acre ranch to the Eastern Shoshone Tribe in her will, giving them the option to purchase and use it in whatever way they saw fit. The ranch was then purchased with money from the American Rescue Plan Act, which was started by the Biden administration to combat the impacts of the pandemic. Funds also came from tribal opioid settlements.
The ranch is located in Fort Washakie and will be operated by the Doya Natsu Healing Center, which means “medicine mountain” in Shoshone. The organization, which was formerly known as the Eastern Shoshone Recovery program, currently provides outpatient resources and treatment services for those recovering from addiction.
Kellie Webb, director of the Doya Natsu Healing Center, said the recovery community is “much, much bigger than people expect.” According to a recent annual summary, the organization logged more than 7,000 clinical service hours and had 156 patient admissions in 2022. She said the new property will really make a difference in being able to support people in their road to recovery.
“We want to have as many supportive services as people need to live and be contributing citizens of our community, and continue and be positive within their family system and within the tribal system,” she said.
Webb is an enrolled member of the Cowlitz Tribe in Washington and is also Eastern Shoshone. She was born and raised on the Wind River Reservation and said the new ranch is an expansion of the organization’s current community-based and culturally-informed programming.
“My personal philosophy is really strengths-based and person-centered. We're really going to focus on these individual’s strengths and tap into their strengths to make their life even more supported,” she said.
The organization also plans to build up to ten tiny houses on the property, where people in recovery can receive continued care as they transition back into their community. Those residents would be able to participate in workforce readiness programs and also search for more permanent housing without the stress of an imminent move-out date.
“We know that when people have safe housing and work support, they sustain remission longer and really can contribute to the community in a good way,” she said.
The structure of the ranch is designed to intentionally provide a balance of independence and connectivity. Webb said residents will be expected to help out with chores on the ranch and lean into expectations that come with living in a community.
“It's really important that adults have their own space, but it’s also communal so they can support each other. In the main house, they'd have peer-support group meetings, AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings and house meetings and communal meals,” she said.
The Doya Natsu Healing Center is currently working on getting the pieces in place to get the ranch up and running – finding a house manager, writing construction grants to help build the tiny houses. Based on the grants, Webb said at least two tiny houses could be up and running within the next ten months. According to thepress release from the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, the program may be operational as soon as this summer or early fall.
