Siksika Nation, Government of Alberta announce recovery facility groundbreaking

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Government of Alberta and Siksika Nation announced June 28 the groundbreaking of a new 76-bed recovery community facility under construction in Siksika Nation. 

This project is part of the Alberta Recovery Model, which aims to provide people facing addiction and mental health challenges an opportunity to pursue recovery. 

“Five years ago, this government started down a path that would come to be known as the Alberta Recovery Model, and from the very start, we knew partnership with Indigenous communities was going to be the center of our model,” said Dan Williams, minister of mental health and addiction. “The idea of recovery is simple – it is the idea that every single Albertan should have an opportunity at recovery, that our health care system should be about healing, should be about helping people get to a spot where they are community members again, family members again, can contribute the way that they did before the deadly disease of addiction grabbed them.”

The Siksika Recovery Community is one of 11 sister facilities being developed across the province and represents a $35 million investment from the province. Of these 11 facilities, five will be in direct partnership with Indigenous communities. 

Siksika’s recovery community will aim to support up to 300 people per year in their pursuit of recovery and expects to officially open its doors to those in need, in the fall of 2025. 

Williams also noted during the press conference announcing the groundbreaking, the facility will be owned and operated by Siksika Nation.

“We do not necessarily think that this recovery centre is going to be the magic pill … but one of the things that we have been working on here at Siksika is creating that foundation. A lot of times when people turn to drugs or alcohol, it is not for the party, it is to bury some of that trauma that they are dealing with,” said Ouray Crowfoot, chief of Siksika Nation. “Some of the traditional treatment centres, it has either been the 28-day turn around, or the 90-day turn around, and a lot of times, the people who go in there, they are not really ready to be healed, and so our goal and our vision along with the Province of Alberta is through this facility, being here at Siksika, some of the teachings that are going to become part of the recovery program are some Siksika-based, land-based, and getting to the core of those issues.”

The facility will be open both to Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients, who will be able to stay at no cost for up to a year and participate in programming aimed at improving their health, relationships and skills to support their recovery.