Don Coyhis
President
White Bison, Inc.
Don Coyhis, Mohican Nation currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is the President of White Bison, Inc., an American Indian 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation dedicated to creating and sustaining a grassroots Wellbriety Movement that provides culturally based healing to the next seven generations of Indigenous People. Through the leadership of White Bison, the Wellbriety Movement has taken a prominent role in the recovery of many Native Americans and their communities. Don has published many Wellbriety books and resources. For over 30 years, Don has been called upon to provide technical assistance by national policy organizations such as the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, SAMHSA, and other national recovery organizations to develop culturally-based prevention and recovery programs for Indigenous communities. He has also received many prestigious awards, including the 2009 Purpose Prize.
KEYNOTE
The Wellbriety Movement: Creating Recovery Communities
Thirty years ago, we came together to work on issues of alcoholism and its affects on our communities. Over time, the issues have shifted. Mr. Coyhis will provide an overview of this shift and offer culturally-based tools as a way to learn to work on causes, not symptoms. Mr. Coyhis will present concepts of the Healing Forest Model and the impacts of Intergenerational Trauma, in order to describe how we can be more effective in recovery and prevention strategies. We are in strange times, and some people have been unknowingly prepared to lead our communities during these turbulent times. Mr. Coyhis will describe how recovery activists can help us create recovery communities.