The history of The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations begins in 1986 when The Confederated Tribe of the Colville Reservation, The Spokane Tribe of Indians, The Kalispel Tribe of Indians, The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, The Coeur d’Alene Tribe of Indians, The Nez Perce Tribe, and The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla (the “Seven Nations”) banded together to talk about creating a chemical dependency treatment solution for youth.
The consortium of tribes knew that they would be the most successful if they combined their limited resources to develop one collective program rather than creating their own. With the help of Indian Health Services (IHS), they established a treatment program in 1988 named Inland Tribal Consortium (ITC) Youth Treatment. Because of its central location among the Seven Nations, the Spokane area was chosen as a location for the program. Once the program was established and services were expanded to all adolescents (Native or non-Native), additional funding was attracted from the State of Washington so that the program could serve youth covered by state-funded medical plans.
The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations is one of twelve Indian Health Services Regional Youth Treatment Centers around the country.
