Wellbriety
Wellbriety
Native American programs introduce guests to the belief that indigenous healing and recovery are possible through empowerment. Culturally competent treatment programs offer Native American healing rituals that provide relief from generational trauma and develop inner resilience.
Royal Life Centers’ Native American Program (NAP) allows our guests to experience, explore, and reconnect to tribal teachings and ancestral knowledge, helping them cultivate a fulfilling, sober lifestyle. We developed our Native American Program to promote a healing opportunity for both tribal and non-tribal guests at Royal. We are committed to ensuring that our guests recover from addiction and restore life’s natural order during our culturally competent treatment program for Native Americans.
Our Native American Program for Drug and Alcohol Treatment
Royal’s Native American Program addresses the mental and behavioral health risk factors involved with drug and alcohol abuse, through the integration of culturally competent activities. In doing so, we hope to motivate native and non-native guests as they participate in Native American healing rituals and progress toward healthier lifestyles for the betterment of themselves, their families, and their community.
Chiefly, NAP courses, ceremonies, and peer-support gatherings expose you to the ceremony of healing in an inclusive and respectful environment. We value the importance of inclusivity, believing in its power as a powerful component of healing. For this purpose, guests participating in our Native American Program become a part of a healthy, life-changing movement.
In general, tribal healing courses include talking circles and hands-on activities that increase self-confidence and the desire to recover from addiction. Overall, Native American programs work to remove substance abuse in native people and the feelings of social isolation. At the same time, Native American programs offer treatment services that help to increase positive and productive behaviors within tribal communities.
We also want to acknowledge the team at Wellbriety in addition to the local tribes of Washington state. The efforts of our team and local tribal leaders who provide insights, support, and guidance have helped us build a successful, culturally competent Native American program.



Royal Life Center’s Wellbriety-Certified Treatment Programs
Royal Life Centers is honored to be a part of the White Bison Wellbriety family as one of only 10 Wellbriety Certified Treatment Centers. More specifically, we proudly offer our Native American Program for guests undergoing treatment in one of our five facilities located across the beautiful state of Washington.
Our NAP is led by competent and highly experienced indigenous staff and consultants, many of whom are White Bison certified Wellbriety trainers. Wellbriety’s certification gives us the opportunity to honor the centuries-old traditions of holistic healing in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. Above all, Royal upholds the principles of integrity, gratefulness, generosity, respect, and honoring of all of our tribal and non-tribal guests.
In collaboration with the Wellbriety movement, Royal’s NAP group facilitators introduce you to Native American healing practices to improve your mental and spiritual well-being. In addition, our Native American Program offers education on the triggers of drug and alcohol abuse and its effects.
Through Wellbriety’s courses, our NAP instills a stronger understanding of cultural identity while addressing the prevalence of substance use disorders within Native American communities. These groups also aim to dismantle the underlying toxic beliefs resulting from generational trauma to help you heal from addiction.

Wellbriety & White Bison
The Wellbriety movement brings hope, healing, unity, and forgiveness to individuals, families, and communities across the United States and Canada. Treatment centers that join the Wellbriety movement participate in training seminars so that they may integrate Wellbriety courses into their rehabilitation programs for Native people in their communities. Once a substance use treatment center completes the Wellbriety training process, it becomes a Wellbriety Certified Treatment Center. The Wellbriety-certified facility then integrates culturally competent care into the recovery process of Indigenous individuals seeking help for alcohol and substance use disorders.
Working together with White Bison through Wellbriety’s certification process, our Washington treatment centers are trained in culturally relevant treatment services for Indigenous people. Royal Life Centers continues to uphold all of the Wellbriety certification requirements within all of our Washington facilities. In doing so, our staff ensures that our treatment centers maintain culturally competent standards and offer tailored treatment services for Native communities.
Wellbriety Teachings:
Royal Life Centers’ culturally specific healing program offers Wellbriety’s White Bison programs and other inclusive treatment protocols. Our staff also provides culturally appropriate alcohol and drug abuse assessments, co-occurring disorder evaluations, and individual and group treatment for each guest.
Within our Wellbriety-certified treatment program, we provide groups like:
- Processing grief and trauma
- Engagement in cultural traditions
- Therapeutic sweat lodge ceremonies
- Tribal healing events
Our NAP coordinators are trained in Wellbriety-certified courses including The Medicine Wheel & 12 Steps, Mending Broken Hearts, and the educational materials found in the Red Road to Wellbriety study book. Within Royal’s programs, tribal healing groups are offered along with evidence-based therapy groups like:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Local sober support meetings (AA and NA)
Our Wellbriety curriculum includes:
- Culturally based curriculum
- Wellbriety-certified counselors
- Native American group facilitators
- Individual and group counseling
- Study groups
- Healing circles
- Continuum of care plans with community referrals
Our Native American Program services include:
- Wellbriety-certified counselors trained in culturally based curriculum
- Traditional Native American healing practices and teachings
- Native American elders who conduct ceremonies and teach tribal courses
- Individual and group counseling for all guests
- Staff members with Native American ancestry
- Aftercare services through tribal community referrals
NAP groups include educational lectures, open discussions, guest speakers, and coursework presentations shared in a supportive and caring environment. (Note: groups are subject to change.)
Meeting the Cultural Needs of Indigenous Guests
Royal’s Native American Program offers tribal courses, ceremonies, and peer-support gatherings that expose you to the ceremony of healing. For your recovery to be authentic and true to you, we make the integration of your culture a priority. We want you to be able to honor your traditions.
Our staff of trained facilitators educates our guests on prevention, preparation, and harm-reduction tactics regarding alcohol and drug addiction within the scope of Native practices. Additionally, our staff reviews the historical trauma inflicted on native peoples following the introduction of European settlers, offering practical and positive coping skills to aid in healing from intergenerational trauma.
Substance Use Disorder Treatment for Native Americans and Tribal Members
We offer a full continuum of care for drug and alcohol use disorder rehabilitation across our treatment network including:
- Medical detox program
- Residential inpatient program
- Partial hospitalization program (PHP)
- Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
- Outpatient (OP) and sober living residencies
Our award-winning substance use disorder treatment programs can be found within our multi-accredited facilities located in:
- Spokane, Washington
- Mead, Washington
- Lacey, Washington
- Sumner, Washington
- Prescott, Arizona (Currently does not provide NAP services)
“Because We Care,” Royal Life Centers provides you with an unparalleled and transformative treatment experience. To do so, we have merged premier facilities across the United States. Our substance use disorder treatment network provides you with unrivaled treatment at every level of care.
Join Royal’s NAP program at any of our Washington locations!
Puget Sound | Sound Recovery | The Haven Detox | Cascade Heights | Spokane Heights
Reach Out to Join Our Native American Program
Royal Life Centers is in-network with Shasta Insurance and the Healthcare Management Administration (HMA). We also have a collaborative relationship with Indian Health Services (IHS). We also work with other insurance providers in order to get you into our Native American Program. If your insurance plan is out-of-network, we advocate on your behalf. Our admissions team will work hard to come to an agreement with your insurance provider.
If you are looking to seek treatment for yourself or a loved one, we encourage you to reach out to our 24/7 admissions department at 877-RECOVERY. Our team in admissions will work diligently with tribal communities to secure quality SUD treatment for you and other Native Americans seeking a new life in recovery. They will collaborate with you, tribes, and insurance providers to place you in a quality addiction treatment program.
12-Step Recovery Groups for Native Americans
Within The Medicine Wheel & 12 Steps, our NAP facilitators educate you on prevention, preparation, and harm-reduction tactics regarding alcohol and drug addiction within the scope of Native practices. When translating the process of recovery into native culture, our group facilitators provide lessons on The Medicine Wheel. The Medicine Wheel is a physical representation of the Native American beliefs of universal interconnectedness. For this purpose, our culturally based teachings use The Medicine Wheel to encourage healing within the native perspective.
Treatment for Generational Trauma
During Wellbriety’s Mending Broken Hearts, our NAP group facilitators lead discussions about the generational trauma from the historical abuse of Native Americans. Also, this Wellbriety course teaches you about the lasting impacts of the historical trauma inflicted on native peoples following the introduction of European settlers. In addition, our staff is trained on culturally competent practices that provide practical and positive coping skills to help you heal from intergenerational trauma.
Tribal Teachings in Our Holistic Treatment Program
Royal Life Centers’ program for tribal healing focuses on holistic recovery from generational trauma. In fact, we offer our holistic treatment through the fusion of traditional, evidence-based treatment practices with Native American philosophies and customs.
Royal’s NAP offers tribal teachings, including:
- The Cycle of Life
- Four Agreements
- A Vision for You
- Canoe Journey
- Gifts from the Four Directions
- Way of the Otter
- Healing Circle
- Native Resiliency
- Native Empowerment
- Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps
- Mending Broken Hearts
- Strengthening Families
Our goal is to create a healing forest so future generations can go from surviving to thriving by helping them deal with their intergenerational trauma. Similarly, our vision is to build healthy Native American families and communities through the healing of individuals impacted by substance abuse, trauma, and co-occurring disorders.
Cultural Practices for Native American Recovery
Cultural practices are integrated into the healing process of each guest. We will stand beside you, providing support and guidance long after the formal treatment process has ended. Once enrolled in our NAP, you’ll remain a part of the Royal family for life. As with our teachings, our community is “forever,” even after graduating from our treatment programs.
Our Wellbriety-certified courses assist in the learning, or re-learning, of how to honor and use the sacred hoop in order to help you heal in recovery.
To illustrate the the four gifts of healing, the sacred hoop includes:
- North – Forgiving the unforgivable
- South – Hope
- East – Healing
- West – Unity
During your time in treatment, you will participate in groups to help you acknowledge and understand historical trauma leading to intergenerational trauma. Our Wellbriety-certified group facilitators teach all of our NAP groups with attention to culture, accuracy, and respect.
Cultural Practices at Royal Life Centers
Royal’s Native American Program provides the opportunity to reconnect to tribal teachings and ancestral knowledge for the purpose of helping you cultivate a fulfilling, sober lifestyle.
Our Native American Program integrates culture with therapeutic activities that help bring you back to a connected state of mind and spirit. Activities such as drum making, beading, and ceremonies incorporate ancestral practices such as sweat lodges give you the tradition you’ve been missing and the comfort of your native culture.
Beadwork
Beadwork is a decorative art form used by Native Americans to garnish functional goods such as clothing, dwellings, and horse gear.
Drum Making
Drum making engages the centuries-old custom of forging a physical representation of Native culture and celebration.
Smudging
Smudging rituals purify the body, aura, and energy of ceremonial or personal space within the “smoke bath.”
Sweat Lodge
A sweat lodge is a Native American tradition in which you enter a dome-shaped space to experience a sauna-like environment.
Drum Circles
Drum circles are carried out on booming community drums to the beat of Native songs.
Native Medicine and Gardening
Native medicine and gardening blend Native naturopathic healing with evidence-based practices to promote holistic growth.
Culturally Competent Treatment for Native Americans
Royal’s NAP group facilitators immerse you within a culturally competent substance abuse disorder treatment process leading to a substance abuse-free and highly resilient lifestyle. All in all, culture is an essential ingredient for a healthy life and living in balance in the spirit and natural world for all people. For Indigenous communities, culture is central to a Native person’s tribal identity, social status, and physical and spiritual existence. In the same way, our Native American Program ensures that each culturally competent course represents the tribal connection to the guiding principles that lead to a spiritual way of life.
Within our culturally competent treatment process, you’ll learn about the essential life principles of native ancestors as a way to learn healthy grieving practices through culturally centered modalities. Our Native American Program also teaches you the importance of prioritizing personal and family commitments, self-care, self-discipline, and loyalty to the self and others. Through the ceremony of healing, we strive to instill genuine feelings of connection as you learn healthy coping mechanisms. As a result, you develop the necessary skills for the purpose of instilling healthy grieving behaviors and self-acceptance.
Overall, our Native American Program presents an opportunity for a “new” beginning for many tribal and non-tribal guests. Regardless of culture or upbringing, guests suffering from substance use disorders resulting from trauma can regain a sense of oneness with their surroundings in Royal’s NAP. More than that, our program teaches and acknowledges that we are all connected, regardless of our biological or ancestral beginnings.
Royal’s Culturally Competent Ceremonies
Wasigila Wa Ki Kaga
“Wiping of Tears” Ceremony
This Wellbriety-certified ceremony teaches you how to process grief in a culturally centered manner. For instance, Wiping Tears calls upon the spirits of your ancestors to return to Earth to help heal your pain. This intensely emotional ritual also invites the support of our community to build trust and resolve trauma.
Inikagapi Wa Ki Kaga
“Making of New Life and Breath” Ceremony
Sweat lodge ceremonies are deeply intense and intimate, offering a space for prayer and purification. Sweat ceremonies can help you reconnect with your own personal spiritual practices. Additionally, sweats aid you in processing emotions in a culturally centered environment.
The Importance of Culturally Inclusive Treatment Services
For recovery to be authentic for each of our guests, we make the integration of cultural traditions a priority. For this reason, we incorporate Native American ceremonies, practices, and crafts to ensure that our guests can honor their traditions. In addition, our Sumner facility has built a sweat lodge for ceremonial healing.
Addiction treatment for Native American people needs a foundation of culture, tradition, and values in addition to evidence-based practices. The essence of Native American culture—the spiritual ideology of interconnectedness—enabled a healthy, harmonious existence. Unfortunately, the introduction of European settlers disrupted the cultural practices, harming the Native people’s way of life. Following the years of colonial abuse, many natives struggle to find their way back to their cultural roots. In order to revitalize this culture of interconnectedness, we work with you to reinvigorate your spirit’s link to your surroundings. Therefore, your participation in culturally competent care will help to bring you clarity and wholeness in recovery.
The Significance Behind Our Native American Program
We are excited to offer tribal treatment services that specialize in healing Native people. This is because we understand that the inclusion of culture is much more than acknowledging a lifestyle. In fact, culture is the connection to a guiding philosophy of existence for Native people. With this in mind, it is central to all Native and Indigenous cultures, making its integration within the treatment process essential.
Royal Life Centers seeks to heal tribal and non-tribal members with the holistic Native American practices of our Wellbriety-certified treatment programs in the state of Washington. Our tribal healing services draw the training seminars established by White Bison and carried out through Wellbriety to emphasize the knowledge, connections, and impact of Native American culture in recovery. For this reason we are able to ensure our substance use disorder treatment model is based on cultural competence.
Substance Use Disorder Treatment for Native Americans and Tribal Members
We offer a full continuum of care for drug and alcohol use disorder rehabilitation across our treatment network including:
- Medical detox program
- Residential inpatient program
- Partial hospitalization program (PHP)
- Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
- Outpatient (OP) and sober living residencies
Our award-winning substance use disorder treatment programs can be found within our multi-accredited facilities located in:
- Spokane, Washington
- Mead, Washington
- Lacey, Washington
- Sumner, Washington
- Prescott, Arizona (Currently does not provide NAP services)
“Because We Care,” Royal Life Centers provides you with an unparalleled and transformative treatment experience. To do so, we have merged premier facilities across the United States. Our substance use disorder treatment network provides you with unrivaled treatment at every level of care.
Reach Out to Join Our Native American Program
Royal Life Centers is in-network with Shasta Insurance and the Healthcare Management Administration (HMA). We also have a collaborative relationship with Indian Health Services (IHS). We also work with other insurance providers in order to get you into our Native American Program. If your insurance plan is out-of-network, we advocate on your behalf. Our admissions team will work hard to come to an agreement with your insurance provider.
If you are looking to seek treatment for yourself or a loved one, we encourage you to reach out to our 24/7 admissions department at 877-RECOVERY. Our team in admissions will work diligently with tribal communities to secure quality SUD treatment for you and other Native Americans seeking a new life in recovery. They will collaborate with you, tribes, and insurance providers to place you in a quality addiction treatment program.