Fighting addiction with fun

Rocky Boy residents of all ages came out in droves Friday night, for a cookout and bonfire aimed at providing a drug and alcohol free environment. "Everyone is really chipping in," said Mike Geboe, project director for Smart and Healthy Choices.

The SAMHSA/CSAP Bonfire 5 was held in the parking lot of Plain Green's call center, and was sponsored by Smart and Healthy Choices, an HIV and substance abuse prevention program at Stone Child College subsidized by a SAMHSA and CSAP federal grant. The reservation's Family Resource Center's TANF Rocky Boy Exposed to Violence Project, Woman's Safety Program and Protecting Our Children Project lent their names and donated their time to the event.

Rocky Boy TANF covered the cost of the food, while Plain Green offered organizers use of their outdoor power and the Chippewa Cree Construction Company set up porta potties.

Geboe said the bonfire and activities are meant to provide an alternative to families and those with substance abuse problems on a Friday night, a time when people often engage in at-risk behavior such as drug and alcohol consumption.

"We just want them to come here and do something positive with their family," said Geboe. "Anytime they do anything with their family is a good thing."

It was the fifth such gathering put on by Healthy and Safe Choices. In May, it organized the first two such gatherings at the reservation agency, and in July, two others in Plain Green's parking lot.

Festivities began at 3 p.m., and by 6 p.m. attendees were walking or driving onto the scene. Those in attendance formed a circle and prayed for the strength to stem the tide of drug and alcohol use. Children laughed as they chased each other, weaving clumsily through the line of people who stood waiting to to be served free hot dogs, potato chips, sodas and bottled water. Children on the grass down by the road kicked around soccer balls and participated in freewheeling games of football or taking part in a stick horse race.

There were also hand-drum and singing contests, as people stood holding hands as they danced in unison around the bonfire, its flames cutting through the darkness and the autumn chill. At the invitation of event organizers Fawn Wood and Dallas Waskahat, two Plains Cree singers made the nine-hour journey from their separate homes on Saddle Lake and Frog Lake to sing at the bonfire.

Geboe, who grew up on Rocky Boy, said the reservation has always been plagued by substance abuse problems, such as the prevalence of methamphetamines and, despite the absence of bars or liquor stores on the reservation, alcohol is served at the tribe's casino and at least two nearby establishments.

"We try to do prevention with the families, the whole community and even individually we try to teach them coping skills in dealing with things," said Geboe.

Tribal culture plays a major role at these events. Along with native song and dance, those in attendance formed a circle and prayed they may prevail in their struggle with addiction and be able to discover new ways to use their traditional culture and religion to do so or "tribal based methods" that emphasize getting back in touch with their shared culture and history for healing, rather than modern western methods that he says have not been working.