ONLY ONE FAMILY –
March 3, 2022 – The legacy of alcohol and drug use as a coping mechanism among generations of Native Americans is one that Mariesha Keith does not want to see passed on.
Keith, Tribal Liaison and Indian Preference Coordinator for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, is making it her mission to ensure that future generations of tribal members have healthier ways to cope with the legacy of trauma.
In June 2019, she organized a Sobriety Walk at the NHBP’s annual Pow Wow. The walk has not happened since then because of COVID, but efforts to highlight the toll alcoholism and substance use take on tribal members are continuing.
“Our Pow Wow and all Pow Wows celebrate sobriety,” Keith says. “I had gone to a Sobriety Walk in Grand Rapids with another tribe and I said we need to bring that to our tribe. We need something to help our people. It helps show unity and that whether you’re the alcoholic, the child of an alcoholic, or the survivor of alcoholic parents, we all know that alcohol plays a huge role in the history of killing us off.”
The walk she organized began and ended on the grounds of the Pow Wow and kicked off the event. The group of more than 10 walked around the Pine Creek Reservation and came back to the site of the Pow Wow where they shared stories about their own personal journeys to become sober. Those who spoke included a tribal elder and Keith’s niece.
The rates of substance abuse among Native Americans are generally much higher than those of the general U.S. population, according to the American Addiction Centers website.
