Film Description

The title of this video is Tewa for "getting well after a sickness." Director Beverly Singer, a member of the Santa Clara Tewa Pueblo and a recovering alcoholic, introduces the viewer to the thoughts, experiences and successes of seven Native Americans of different ages who are on the road to recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. In candid reflections, the participants describe the troubled familial and societal circumstances that propelled them into substance abuse and the painful consequences of their addiction, namely incarceration, job loss and family break-ups. Rodney Grant, a Native American actor who appeared in the film Dances with Wolves, reveals the drinking problem that estranged him from the teachings of his grandparents, confessing "I forgot who I was as an Indian person." For Grant and the others who appear in this tape, the path back was aided by community support systems and treatment centers, and was inextricably linked to a reclamation of Native American identity and spirituality. [Recommended for mature young adults.]