“The Southern Ute community has united together to uplift those in recovery.” 

Dr. Oberly | Southern Ute Member

“If you’re still struggling with substance use, reach deep down inside your heart and soul and forgive yourself; give yourself permission to love yourself through your addiction.”

My name is Dr. Stacey Oberly, and I am enrolled in Southern Ute. I have a doctorate in linguistics from the University of Arizona. Right now, I am finishing out the last few months of my first three-year term serving as a Southern Ute Tribal Council member.

My relationship with substance use began before I was born, maybe even before my mom was born. My grandparents on both sides, maternal and paternal, had issues with alcohol use. As did both my parents. So, I grew up in an environment where drinking was always present.

Because I grew up in that environment, I started drinking at eight years old. From 14 to 22, my entire life centered around drinking. At 22, I decided I needed to stop because I was tired of getting blacked out. I wanted to break the cycle of heavy drinking because it had just continued across generations in my family.

Although I have been in recovery for 31 years, and I’m very proud of it, I still feel a sense of stigma to admit that I am a recovering alcoholic. But I can overcome that stigma if I’m open and honest about what I’ve been through and how I have lived. When we do that, we can help others avoid our mistakes.

There are parts of our culture that can also help us overcome addiction and stay in recovery. Growing up, our family attended the sweat ceremony at the Lake Red Ute House. To sweat, you can’t have used substances for a few days. So, looking forward to the sweat ceremony provides another reason to avoid substance use. My grandfather was a Sun Dance Chief when he got sober. When you’re a Sun Dancer, you don’t use alcohol. You’re supposed to live above that stuff. You’re a servant to the community, and you put yourself second to the community.

Knowing how to pray, how to smudge, how to be a supporter of the Sun Dance ceremony, and how to have a close connection with The Creator can provide guidance and create a sense of connection to the community and heritage that can keep people from using substances.

Lastly, some programs are oriented toward Native American culture. The White Bison program is a culturally-based healing program for Native American people. It’s based on traditional beliefs through the Red Road of how we connect with The Creator.

As a community, we want to create a comprehensive program called The Healing Village. It’s designed to see what we can do to help our tribal members struggling with addiction. Because right now, if someone is struggling with addiction and goes to treatment, they have to go to treatment off the reservation. When they come back, there’s no support like sober living or anything like that. So, it’s easier to fall back into addiction. We want to develop a wraparound program where if they go to rehab, and come back to a support system here.

We have a lot to offer those struggling with substance use, and we’re hoping to offer more. But before anyone takes that first step, I would say this: If you’re still struggling with substance use, reach deep down inside your heart and soul and forgive yourself; give yourself permission to love yourself through your addiction.

Marie | Southern Ute Member

“Practicing our traditions can help with recovery from addiction.”

My name is Marie, and my tribal affiliation is the Southern Ute Tribe. I work for Tribal Information System, and I’m raising two daughters.

I struggled with alcohol use, but it hasn’t been in my life for a while. For me, family was an inspiration to find recovery. I wanted to be someone my kids looked up to. When you struggle with addiction, you’re labeled, and that judgment can keep you from getting help. People who haven’t been through it can look down on a person and make them feel small.

Practicing our traditions can help with recovery from addiction. When you get in touch with your culture, you can understand what you’re praying for, how to clear your mind or find energy that helps you stay calm. It’s why praying, sweating, and smudging will help you realize you’re not alone, even if you feel like you are.

If you have a family member struggling with addiction, let them know that there’s always a safe place for them to go when they reach out because sometimes, when you’re in addiction, it feels like you’re alone.

In our community, many of us females raise our kids by ourselves. Some might have been in a relationship for a long time with a partner also struggling with addiction. It’s a hard decision to separate, especially when you have kids, and it’s a decision you have to make about the well-being of your children. It’s not easy, but you have to remember that they’re watching and they’re learning. We talk about breaking the cycle. And doing what is best for your children is a part of that cycle. Even if you don’t know how to break it right away, that’s okay. Because your children will watch how you handled it and see you overcome addiction, that will help guide them to know that they don’t have to stay in the same place if they are ever in a similar situation.

Preston | Southern Ute Member

“Being there to support someone struggling, especially listening to their needs, can make a big difference in their recovery.”

My name is Preston. I’m a Southern Ute tribal member; I grew up on the reservation most of my life. I work as a peer recovery coach for Southern Ute Behavioral Health, helping people with mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and other types of stress.

I started drinking around 11, then I moved to marijuana. It was popular among my friends, so we were all going to try anything that one of us came up with. We tried cocaine, meth, and mushrooms over the years. Over the years, my substance use got me in legal trouble, including two DUIs. After my second, I was facing 18 months in prison. I was worried about losing cultural things that mattered to me, like being able to hunt with my family. So I went into incarceration with an open mind and heart to take every class I had available and actually sit there, listen, and apply it.

Once I was through treatment, certain things helped me stay in recovery. Family was a huge one for me. And I built a mental toolbox for myself of reasons why I wasn’t going to drink, and I set reachable goals.

One misconception about addiction is that it’s a choice, that a person continues to struggle with substance use by choice. If you sit down and educate yourself on addiction, you’ll see that isn’t true.

In fact, a lot of people see addiction as a weakness. They think you’re admitting you’re weak and can’t handle it. It’s just frowned upon, even asking for help. Being male in our culture, we’re supposed to be the providers; we were not expected to go and ask for help.

I think the Southern Ute community has banded together to fight addiction. We have excellent turnouts for the events we put on for Behavioral Health. We try to attend as many events as the Tribe puts on so we can talk about breaking the barriers of stigma and important things like naloxone.

There are things within our culture that can help people break free from addiction or stay in recovery, like the Native American Church, the sweat lodge, beading classes, and breaking cycles.

The support of loved ones is really important, too. Being there to support someone struggling, especially listening to their needs, can make a big difference in their recovery. If you’re still struggling with addiction, my advice is to give every treatment, give every therapy, give any resource out there a chance, and go into it open-minded and open-hearted. Allow it to work for you. It’s not written in stone that treatments will work for you; we’re all individuals, but having a behavioral health system that we have here, we can tailor-make a treatment plan for somebody in recovery. Only some things will work the first time or at all, but if you keep trying, you’ll find the right approach.

Randi | Ute Mountain Ute Member

“Being present, even if you are sitting in silence, can mean a lot to someone struggling with addiction.”

My name is Randi, and I am from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. I am also Southern Ute and Hispanic. I work for the Southern Ute Tribal Court as a Probation Clerk.

I didn’t start drinking until after high school, but once I started, I drank a lot. My drinking got worse as I got older and after I had my daughter. Being a young parent was hard. Also being the only parent with all the responsibilities was not easy. But with my mom and close family, I had the support that I needed to raise my daughter.

Fast forward some years later, I met my husband, who is also on his own sober path. He has 9 years sober this year. My husband quit before I did. I realized that if I did not stop, we probably wouldn’t be together. I quit drinking a year after him. We have been together 11 years.

In a small community, there is a lot of stigma around addiction. Everybody knows each other and they think they know what’s going on in people’s lives. People hear about your struggles and assume you will not change. That kind of attitude can keep people from seeking help.

Luckily, there is help. Southern Ute has the Behavioral Health Department, where they can get you set up with treatment or help you apply for Medicaid. Within the Southern Ute Tribal Court, there is a Wellness Court. Wellness court uses our culture, as well as other resources to help people with addiction. You can meet with someone from the culture department, and they will ask about your interests in learning the Southern Ute culture and offer you new skills and connections to culture, like beadwork, sewing ribbon skirts, Ute language, or other cultural classes. In general, there’s also much more discussion around mental health these days. Which I think plays a huge part in addiction and sobriety.

Loved ones can also be resources. Being present, even if you are sitting in silence, can mean a lot to someone struggling with addiction. If you are someone who is still in active addiction, you are not alone. It seems like you are by yourself in that moment, but if you reach out, someone is out there. I am here.

Marvina | Ute Mountain Ute Member

“Our culture can be a tool in fighting addiction.”

My name is Marvina, and I am Ute Mountain Ute.

I am the peer recovery coach for Southern Ute Health Center’s Behavioral Health Division. I work in the community with people struggling with addiction and alcoholism. I also participate in the Wellness Court Team and the Family Treatment Court Team at the Southern Ute Justice Center.

One of the important things I do is to change perceptions about addiction and help people see the benefits of things like naloxone and fentanyl test strips. At first, some people aren’t ready to see the benefit, but explaining how it can save a life helps to change their perception.

For some, addiction still isn’t talked about. It’s swept under the rug. But addiction is here. We’ve lost a lot of community members to it. In fact, death and substance use disorder have become common enough that there’s starting to be a sense of normalcy around it. And we can’t change that until we start having conversations about addiction and stigma. So we’re trying to change the perception of people who don’t use substances while also informing those who do know about resources that are available to them.

We need to make resources even more accessible. Some Native American communities face additional challenges to get to those resources. Even Behavioral Health is located 11 miles away in Durango. That’s why I’m willing to meet people anywhere as a peer recovery coach.

There are ways in which the Southern Ute Tribe has come together to fight addiction. We’ve collaborated with different departments of the Tribe, the division of social services, family court support, the police department, and the tribal courts. We’re pushing people to work together and overcome addiction, primarily through the events we put on. We’re focusing on the youth and showing them how to have fun without using drugs and alcohol through their own culture.

Our culture can be a tool in fighting addiction. Returning to my roots and using ceremonies like the bear dances, the Sundance, making connections at the powwow, and being at the cultural events, create a bridge to other generations, teach us about our culture, and create the connection we need to overcome addiction.

Mary Lou | Navajo Member

“Beyond the resources, it’s important to keep pushing as life happens, even if you are in recovery.”

My name is Mary Lou, and I am affiliated with the Navajo tribe. These days, I am going to college part-time, I’m working part-time, and I am a full-time mother.

My relationship with substance use started when I was really young. I started drinking when I was 10, started smoking weed by age 12, and by age 15 I started using meth. My substance use continued to progress until I felt like I had no morals. I didn’t care about anything and isolated myself from my family. I became pregnant at 22. I wanted to stop, but I was worried about what might happen to my baby. When she was born, she was taken from me. I was heartbroken, but I also wanted them to help her. I missed her so much and wanted to be there for her. I used those feelings to seek treatment and find the determination to get myself into recovery. I went through treatment and put in the work. Within a year, I’ve completed six months of treatment, three parenting classes, found a job, and I’m going to school. I will have custody of my daughter back by January 1st.

In treatment, I often felt stigmatized. It didn’t feel like doctors and nurses listened to me. It can feel like they don’t take your pain seriously or listen to your needs. Those attitudes made it even harder to stay in treatment.

One thing that can help with these issues would be more addiction resources for our communities. When you’re in the depths of your addiction, you can’t just stop. More resources, like treatment centers, medications for opioid use disorder, counselors, and recovery coaches, mean professionals can give you more individualized treatment.

Beyond the resources, it’s important to keep pushing as life happens, even if you are in recovery. Remember what you’ve been through to get to where you are because remembering your hardships can inspire you to keep going minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.

We remember Mary Lou Gutierrez, a vibrant and strong individual of the Navajo Tribe whose spirit and grace left a lasting mark on all who knew her. Her openness in sharing her recovery journey inspired many, and she spoke with joy about her experience as a mother. Her legacy lives on through her daughter and the many lives she touched with her courage and kindness. Though she is no longer with us, Mary Lou will forever remain in our hearts.