In Their Own Image: Sobriety Powwow Self-Portraits
For MPR News
In August of 2018, the Mash-Ka-Wisen Treatment Center held its 40th annual Celebration of Sobriety Powwow. The day of dancing, food, and celebration was held on the grounds of the country's first Native-centered addiction treatment center in Sawyer, Minn. Evan and MPR News intern Lacey Young cleared out a shed nearby and set up a self-portrait booth for participants to take their own photo and share stories of their journey in recovery.
Watch a video by Lacey here. (All images facilitated by Evan Frost and Lacey Young) Click each participant's name in the caption to hear their story in their own words, and listen to them all here.

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Robert Kesner of the Fond du Lac band of Lake Superior Chippewa uses meditation and connecting with nature to help in his recovery. He describes himself as a “gratefully recovering alcoholic and drug addict … I would have went back and told myself, you’re going to die. This is going to kill you.”
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Shandelle Friedman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has attended the powwow her entire life. She's been in recovery for 20 months and now works as a technician at Mash-ka-wisen. She credits the cultural aspect of treatment for her sobriety. "A lot of other treatment centers talk a lot about God but don't really show you how. Here I was able to connect with my higher power."
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