HISTORY
NATIVE HEALING PROGRAM
NHP History
1972-NIAAA ( National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) was formed via the Hughes Bill during President Lyndon Johnson’s term to address alcoholism in Urban and Tribal areas. Start-up monies were provided through grants. Gene Dillon, Social Worker applied for funding and was successful. The funding was to be administered by an organization and this is when the Rapid City Indian Health Board was formed and run by Directors Fred and Francis Eagle Tail. Hope Lodge was the name of the first halfway house and was located on the Sioux San Hospital grounds.
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1978-lndian Health Service took over administration of the Alcohol Programs in the four state area of SD, ND, Iowa and Nebraska from NIAAA.
1982-Hope Lodge provided halfway house care for clients requiring a safe environment to recover from alcoholism and other drug addictions. Relapses were common in the early formative years. We also began to house clients from three larger tribes in the West River area (Pine Ridge, Rosebud and Eagle Butte) when they sent tribal members and staff members to alcohol and drug treatment at the two week intensive outpatient program affiliated with Rapid City Regional Hospital.
1985-Walter Carlin was hired as the program director of Hope Lodge and we began focusing on how to best meet the many needs of Tribal people suffering from alcoholism and addictions.
1986-ln collaboration with minimum staff and the Indian Health Service Project Director initial funding was obtained to begin upgrading the Hope Lodge facility and was remodeled into an eight bed inpatient facility for men and four beds for women. Programming developed into a pre-treatment program with a regular AA meeting on Thursdays at 7 PM. The programming and structured care increased to a 45-day inpatient treatment program and as time passed a family program was added. Local Traditional and Spiritual care was first initiated by Sidney Keith and his wife. Adolescent substance use care and referral was added to provide a treatment continuum for adolescents. As more time passed a twoweek inpatient codependency program was added to address family members needs who needed healing from their loved ones addictions and from childhood trauma of their own.
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Hope Lodge began adding sobriety dances and AA meetings during Thanksgiving and New Years holidays for fun and leisure activities which were alcohol and drug-free for families to attend. Annual fall and spring retreats in the Black Hills were held to provide rest and relaxation and spiritual care for counselors and others to share with others familiar with the rigors of providing services and care to others still suffering. We decided to cut back the inpatient alcohol and drug treatment program to 30 days to meet the many needs of our tribal people. This was done with limited staff and limited financial resources. There were many needs with limited authority and finances but the providers persevered and put the tribal communities needs first and did their best to accommodate our people.
1998-lndian Health Service began administering the funding and management of the urban programs and eventually through tribal 638 law gave Hope Lodge to the tribes to manage.
1998 to current 2024- The Hope Lodge name was changed to the Oglala Sioux Tribe Native Healing Program and currently provides substance use disorder services on an intensive outpatient basis with the goal of providing inpatient services once again. A different location formerly the Well Springs Adolescent inpatient treatment program was purchased by the Oglala Sioux Tribe to begin planning for inpatient treatment services.