To our Ho-Chunk relatives, before General Council
Thundermaker Wellness Center was founded by two Ho-Chunk citizens. Ho-Chunk relatives have come through our program and gone home well. This month the Hocak Worak put our work on its front page.
In April we received the letter below from the Nation's Division of Behavioral Health. We are sharing it in full because members keep asking us why it has become so hard to get here, and the answer is in this policy.
Read it plainly: a member who wants the Nation's help paying for treatment must go through the Division first, be screened, and be pre-authorized. Even then, funding is not promised, and the Division may choose a different facility. A member who calls us first, in a crisis, can be refused funding in the future.
We are not asking anyone to skip the Nation's process. We follow it, and we will help any relative complete it. We are asking General Council to make the process work for the people it is meant to serve.
In Robert's words
“I was bad into my addiction and Thundermaker helped me a lot. They helped me reconnect to my daughter, family and our culture. I'm positive more Chunks out there can use the help offered and provided that they can get from Thundermaker. Thundermaker Wellness Center should be fully booked from our peeps alone to end the rampant addiction ravaging our folks.”
Robert Heimlich, Huuwa Suuc (Red Elk), Deer Clan, Ho-Chunk Nation, who came through Thundermaker. Shared with his permission.
Why we built it
The people who founded Thundermaker are Ho-Chunk. This is not a business decision for them.
Hunter Thundercloud, Wąąkejahuuga, is an enrolled citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation, Thunder Clan. At the age of 13 he started drinking, which is common among many Native American youth. At 15 he attended his first rehabilitation center. Over the next 16 years his depression and substance use disorder progressed to using heroin and opioids, leading to numerous in-patient stays and multiple suicide attempts. It wasn't until he connected with Indigenous practices through a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation that he found lasting sobriety. Hunter has celebrated nearly a decade of sobriety thanks to the support of his tribe and his continued connection to his cultural roots.
Arrow Funmaker, Bear Clan, raised in a traditional spiritual life, has spent nearly two decades building cultural programs for Native relatives in recovery across Arizona.
They built Thundermaker so a Ho-Chunk relative would not have to get lucky to find what saved Hunter. Ceremony is treatment. Culture is prevention.
The letter
Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Health, Division of Behavioral Health, to Thundermaker Wellness Center, April 7, 2026. Shown in full. The text is transcribed below the images.
Read the letter as text
April 7, 2026
Thundermaker Wellness
Mr. Hunter Thundercloud
1045 Whipple St.
Prescott, AZ 86305
Dear Mr. Thundercloud:
The Division of Behavioral Health is a community behavioral health program providing mental health and addiction services to a fourteen-county area in the state of Wisconsin. In addition, we assist Ho-chunk Tribal Members in identifying appropriate treatment options for assistance with AODA and mental health residential treatment services in the state of Wisconsin. For Ho-chunk Nation enrolled members who reside out of the state of Wisconsin, we can assist with locating an Indian Health Service or other appropriate treatment center.
The Division of Behavioral Health is licensed under the state of Wisconsin. Therefore, we must comply with the statutes and other related rules, laws, policies dictating how we provide services.
The policy provides the following:
Procedure;
- To initiate the treatment funding protocols the Ho-chunk Tribal Member or descendant…should contact one of the two Behavioral Health Patient Service Coordinators or either of the Behavioral Health Shared Care Managers and complete a screening form to start the process after which they will be forwarded to the appropriate staff, please note in the case of imminent danger/emergency services the individual will be streamlined for immediate care.
- Authorization for financial assistance is limited to pre-authorized behavioral health services, except in the case of imminent danger/emergency services. The provider must be a licensed behavioral health provider. Authorization will be given contingent upon availability of funds and within budgetary constraints. Budgetary constraints within the fiscal year may make it necessary to impose a cap on the amount available per client.
- In all cases, the enrolled Ho-chunk Tribal Member or descendant…must submit the following completed forms:
- Patient and Witness Signed Treatment Funding Policy, indicating they understand the requirements and expectations of this funding.
- Release of Information for Treatment Facility
- If a client is on supervision and/or has pending legal issues, a release of information for their probation officer and/or attorney is required to determine if the client is legally able to attend treatment.
It is our desire to provide assistance to those seeking services, but it is imperative this process is followed. In the event you receive a Ho-chunk Tribal Member who is seeking services through your program, please inform them of this process that must take place. This does not ensure funding will be provided as we will seek alternative resources, taking into consideration our budget. If this process is not followed, funding will not be provided in future instances.
Please be aware this is our policy in regard to persons seeking treatment services Behavioral Health does not provide. More recently, Behavioral Health has had an increase in this policy not being followed. Therefore, Behavioral Health will not longer provide financial assistance for persons who do not follow this process.
Warm regards,
Ruth Garvin, MSW LCSW CSAC, ICS
Director, Division of Behavioral Health
Ho-chunk Nation Department of Health
What it means in plain words
- Go through the Division first. Get screened by a Patient Service Coordinator or Shared Care Manager. Get pre-authorized.
- Even then, funding is not promised. The Division decides based on its budget and may choose a different facility.
- Ask Thundermaker first, and you can be refused funding in the future.
- Emergencies are supposed to be streamlined. That is the one door we all agree on.
We understand the Division has a budget and rules to follow. Our concern is simple: a relative in crisis should never be punished for reaching out to the place their own people built.
And there is the clock. When someone is finally ready for help, it is time sensitive. They are not going to jump through hoops and wait weeks to get better. That window is urgent. It is the difference between losing another relative and a relative getting help.
This is not how it works with the other tribes we serve. They understand the urgency, and their members do not wait weeks to get here.
What we are asking General Council
Three things. Each one is specific enough to vote on.
- Recognize Thundermaker as an approved optionThundermaker Wellness Center, founded and operated by Ho-Chunk citizens, licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services, recognized as an approved treatment option for members and descendants living in or traveling to Arizona.
- Decide within five business daysPre-authorization decisions within five business days of a completed screening, with emergency admissions authorized by phone.
- No penalty for asking for helpA member who reaches out to Thundermaker first is walked through the Division's process, not denied future funding.
Resolution language for delegates
Suggested wording. Adapt it to the Nation's format.
WHEREAS, Thundermaker Wellness Center in Prescott, Arizona is a licensed addiction treatment center founded and operated by enrolled citizens of the Ho-Chunk Nation, combining licensed clinical care with Indigenous ceremony, culture, and community; and
WHEREAS, Ho-Chunk members and descendants have sought and completed treatment at Thundermaker; and
WHEREAS, the current treatment funding policy of the Department of Health, Division of Behavioral Health, dated April 7, 2026, can result in denial of future financial assistance to members who contact a treatment provider before contacting the Division;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the General Council directs the Department of Health, Division of Behavioral Health, to: (1) recognize Thundermaker Wellness Center as an approved treatment provider for members and descendants; (2) issue pre-authorization decisions within five business days of a completed screening, with emergency authorization available by telephone; and (3) not deny future financial assistance to any member or descendant solely because they contacted a treatment provider before contacting the Division.
If you need help today
You do not have to figure out the Nation's process alone. We will walk you through it.
- Call usCall (928) 531-1930, any hour. A family member can make this call for you.
- We help you contact the DivisionWe tell you exactly who to call at Behavioral Health, help you complete the screening and the forms, and follow up with the Division so your request keeps moving. In an emergency, get care first.
- You come home to cultureCeremony, sweat lodge, garden, drum, and licensed clinical care in one program, run by your own relatives. Read how admission works.
Bring this to the floor.
Delegates and members: share this page, print it, carry it into General Council. Relatives who need help now: call. Phones are answered 24 hours a day.
Thundermaker Wellness Center, 1045 Whipple Street, Prescott, Arizona 86305. Native owned and operated. admissions@thundermakerwellness.com
Ceremony is treatment. Culture is prevention. Our people, our recovery.