The White Buffalo Youth Inhalant Treatment Centre is celebrating its new home.
The treatment facility has moved about 70 kilometres southeast from Sturgeon Lake First Nation to Muskoday First Nation.
Muskoday First Nation Chief Austin Bear says the facility offers a number of addictions services for at-risk female Indigenous youth from across Canada.
“Their clientele could be from any First Nation in Canada,” he said. “The youth solvent abuse program is a national program.”
Chief Bear adds such a facility is essential, as drug and alcohol addiction is one of the major obstacles facing First Nations youth.
“First Nations, young people particularly, are in peril and the cause of it – much of it – is alcohol, drug abuse and other addictions.”
White Buffalo targets Indigenous female youth between the ages of 12 to 17. The 10-bed facility uses a holistic approach, with an emphasis on culture and resiliency.
The centre employs a four-month residential treatment program. It is in its 22nd year of operation. White Buffalo is owned and operated by 10 Saskatchewan tribal councils. The facility also receives funding from Health Canada.
About 50 people gathered on Muskoday First Nation Friday to celebrate the official opening of the new location.
(PHOTO: Dignitaries at the official opening of the new location of the White Buffalo Youth Inhalant Treatment Centre. Photo by Fraser Needham.)