Indigenous owned and operated addiction recovery center in North America for Native people.
We are now officially open and taking in relatives! Please fill out the “Contact us” form at the bottom of this page to get enrolled!
Thank you!
We are the Native-owned and operated behavioral health wellness center providing American Indian and Alaska Native people with evidence-based treatment interwoven with cultural and traditional practices with modern methodologies, focusing on treating the whole person to support long-term recovery.
Weaving contemporary programs with cultural practices
At Thundermaker Wellness Center, we offer a healing path that’s both rooted in tradition and responsive to today’s challenges. Our approach to addiction and behavioral health blends modern therapies with ancestral teachings because we know that true healing happens when culture, spirit, and community are honored together.
As an Indigenous led recovery center, our programs are built by and for Native people. Every part of what we do, from counseling to ceremony, is guided by Indigenous values, practices, and ways of knowing. This isn’t just treatment… it’s reclamation, reconnection, and renewal through wellness and cultural identity.
Many Native relatives struggling with addiction face barriers to care. Too often, programs overlook the importance of cultural identity, spiritual safety, and traditional healing. That disconnect can lead to relapse, isolation, and incomplete recovery.
Thundermaker is here to fill the gap with culturally grounded, holistic care that speaks to the whole person, not just the symptoms. Our team includes licensed therapists, cultural practitioners, psychiatric providers, and wellness coaches who walk alongside each relative with respect, compassion, and lived experience.
We also work closely with tribal leaders, local organizations, and community partners to offer wraparound support and resources. Together, we’re building a space where Indigenous healing isn’t just possible, it’s powerful.
Evidence-based programs
We believe healing should be guided by both wisdom and evidence. That’s why we use proven practices—tools that have been tested and shown to help people heal, grow, and reconnect.
These are called evidence-based programs. That means they’ve been studied carefully, used in different places, and shown to work. They help us make sure our relatives are getting the best care possible, care that’s thoughtful, effective, and rooted in both science and spirit.
Here’s what makes these programs strong:
They’re backed by research. People have studied them, tested them, and seen real results.
They work in different communities. They’re flexible enough to be used in many settings and still help.
They help people heal. Whether it’s through therapy, group work, or cultural connection, they support real change.
They keep growing. We update and improve them as we learn more—because healing is never one-size-fits-all.
At Thundermaker, we braid these evidence-based practices with Indigenous teachings, ceremonies, and ways of knowing. That’s what makes our approach unique. We don’t just treat symptoms—we walk with our relatives through the full journey of healing, recovery, and reconnection.
We invite you to learn more about how we use these tools in our programs. Every step we take is guided by care, culture, and commitment to our communities.
Culturally-driven psychotherapeutic programs:
Sweat Lodge
The Sweat Lodge is a sacred healing ceremony practiced by many Indigenous Nations across Turtle Island.
It helps cleanse the mind, body, spirit, and emotions through prayer, heat, and tradition. At Thundermaker, we honor this ancient practice as part of our wellness programs—blending cultural teachings with therapeutic care.
Food Sovereignty
Being in relationship with the land is at the heart of Indigenous life. At Thundermaker, we honor that connection through food sovereignty and land-based healing practices, what some now call horticulture therapy.
Growing, harvesting, and sharing food isn’t just about nourishment, it’s ceremony, medicine, and memory. These practices support our physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing, while bridging traditional knowledge with modern therapeutic care.
Traditional Medicines/Practices
We honor our traditional medicines as powerful tools for healing. They offer a full-circle approach to addiction and recovery, supporting the mind, body, spirit, and heart.
Our space is open to all Nations, utilizing relative-specific practices supported by intertribal staff who live the culture every day. Our guidance comes from lived experience, ceremony, and community, not just textbooks. That’s what makes our care real, rooted, and deeply respectful.
How we got started
Thundermaker Recovery Center was founded in 2024 by Hunter Thundercloud and Arrow Funmaker, two Indigenous leaders who witnessed firsthand how most addiction programs left culture out of the healing process. They knew Native people needed more than just treatment; they needed connection, ceremony, and community.
Thundermaker was built as a place where healing feels like coming home. It’s not just a facility, it’s a living circle rooted in the values our communities have carried for generations. Here, clients aren’t treated like patients. They’re welcomed as relatives, walking together toward wellness.
Our care is holistic, addressing the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual parts of each person. Elders and cultural practitioners share teachings, lead ceremony, and offer guidance. Meals are prepared with Indigenous foods, and the land itself plays a role in the healing journey.
At Thundermaker, we’re not just helping people recover; we’re rebuilding the strength of our communities. We believe healing happens in relationship, and no one should walk that path alone
Contact Us
If you are interested in enrollment into our program, working with us, have any questions, or want to know more, please contact us by filling out this form, or join our mailing list for updates, future events, or programs.
Pinagigi/Thank you (Ho-Chunk)
Ahehee/Thank you (Navajo)
Aheeiyeh/ Thank you (Apache)
Wado/ Thank you (Cherokee)
Mvto/ Thank you (Creek)
Pilamaya/ Thank you (Lakota)