Introducing the ‘Well for Culture’ organization
Who is ‘Well for Culture?’
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s Native Connections Program would love to introduce the community to “Well for Culture,” founded by two exceptional Native Americans, Chelsey Luger (Lakota/Ojibwe) and Thosh Collins (Onk-Akimel O’odham/Wa-Zha-Zhi/Haudenosaunee). The Well for Culture organization promotes holistically well lifestyles.
The organization believes in mind-body-spirit optimization through the seven circles of wellness. Much like a ceremony, a song, a story, or an activist movement, Well for Culture is at once – a space, a place, a group of people, and an evolving idea (https://www.wellforculture.com/home).
How can ‘Well for Culture’ help local Native Americans?
Their website is a great place to learn about general Native American health and wellness and offers excellent tips and skills anyone can incorporate into their day-to-day lives. One of their goals is to help Native Americans reclaim and revitalize Indigenous health and wellness through lifestyle teachings from our ancestors and combining current information and merging them to build a healthier you.
The founders are active in their communities and travel around Indian Country, sharing their knowledge and support to help our Indigenous relatives create wellness in their own lives and society.
Some of their excellent programs include:
- Through movement: Revitalizing optimal physical wellness for the evolution of Indigenous Nationhood.
- Through food-ways: Re-indigenizing food preparation and consumption to restore the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical wellness of the people. Healthy food has always been central to indigenous cultures.
- Through Indigenous language: Fitness and movement using our Indigenous languages.
Knowledge and support for all
Check out their website, www.wellforculture.com, their book The Seven Circles: Indigenous Teachings for Living Well, and their podcast on YouTube or their blog. All these resources can be found on their website. They also have a great list of books they love and recommend for those who want to study further the relationship between Indigenous teachings, western science, food and diet, and even political manifestos.
Be on the lookout for their participation and attendance in many Indigenous activities and events across Indigenous Country.
Reminder: If you need to talk to someone, please reach out.
It’s okay not to feel okay. Please contact us if you or someone you know has been struggling with their emotions, behaviors, or substance use. We can help you find appropriate tools and services that could help you overcome obstacles in your life. We are here for you. Don’t hesitate to contact the Southern Ute Behavioral Health Division or the Native Connections Program at 970-563-5700 for more information or to set up an appointment to see a counselor or therapist. Or you can call the NEW Nationwide Suicide and Substance Use Crisis line: 9-8-8. Simply calling or texting 988 or chatting at 988Lifeline.org will connect you to compassionate care and support for mental health-related distress. #988Lifeline
And for those interested in opioid use education, harm reduction, and support, please contact us for quick Naloxone (Narcan) training and fentanyl test strips. We can schedule individual, family, or friends training times at our Southern Ute Behavioral Health Building, or we can come to you, and the training is around 30 minutes. Please call us at 970-563-5700 to set up a training appointment.
Resources: #wellforculture. WELLFORCULTURE. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.wellforculture.com/home