Healing Lodge Back on Track

Healing Lodge Back on Track

Thursday, August 26, 2004 at 13:13

 

 

An Aboriginal healing facility on the Beardy’s/Okemasis First Nation appears to be functioning normally.

 

Although the Willow Cree Healing Lodge officially opened with much fanfare last summer, procedural problems meant it couldn’t accept inmates until just recently.

 

However, the man brought on board to head the institution after the former director stepped down says things are running at full-steam.

 

Ron Boutin says the facility puts a strong emphasis on holistic healing and is driven by elders.

 

The healing lodge accepts Aboriginal inmates who have shown a willingness to address past wrongs in their lives.

 

Up until this point, the facility had mostly accepted offenders of Cree ancestry, but Boutin says it has brought in inmates from other tribal backgrounds, as well.

 

Boutin adds Willow Cree is not a “walk in the park” as some might think. He says it is only open to those offenders who are willing to work at changing behaviours that have led to their incarceration.

 

So far, relations between the facility and the nearby reserve are reportedly good.