Overview
Don Coyhis is a member of the Mohican Nation from the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation in Wisconsin. In 1988, he founded White Bison, a nonprofit that offers addiction prevention and recovery resources to Native American and Alaska Native communities. He first set out to raise awareness of alcoholism among young people on reservations and later widened his work to include drug addiction and family relationships. That work grew into the Wellbriety Movement, a set of grassroots, culturally based programs that includes Wellbriety recovery circles. In 2006, he co-wrote a book about alcohol problems and recovery in Native America with researcher William White.
Why He Matters
Coyhis's work shows that recovery programs can be built around a community's own culture and values. Wellbriety means to be both sober and well, and it reaches beyond stopping addiction to healing families and whole communities. The movement is guided by a Council of Elders, and White Bison's resources are also open to people who are not Native. In 2009, he received the Purpose Prize, a $100,000 award that honors people over 60 who are working to solve problems in their communities.
