"Some days I get tired and I feel like giving up but then I think, my ancestors didn't give up on me. My grandmother fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn and she survived that battle for me, you know. So I'm gonna do that for the future generations." - Mama Julz

The mission of the Mothers Against Meth Alliance (MAMAs) is "to provide competent and compassionate advocacy, community action, media outreach, drug education, and to provide rehabilitation resources that reflect the traditions and customs of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota people, as well as for all those affected by Methamphetamine addiction, their families, and their communities."

Here is what your specific donation would provide:

$10 - ONE, hospital grade, sharps container
$25 - ONE pack of clean syringes
$50 - TWENTY Drug Test Kits
$75 - ONE Gas cards for recovery Incentive Program
$100 - TWO gift certificates for sober, local recreation activities (i.e. restaurants, movies) for recover Incentive Program
$150 - TWO doses of Narcan® (used to reverse overdose)
$500 - ONE Star Blanket for those who have completed the incentive program
$1,000 - FIVE SQUARE FEET of construction on a MAMAs detox space

WHY YOUR DONATION IS SO IMPORTANT:

Since 2014, meth use on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has doubled. Well fertilized by generational trauma, colonization, criminalization, and restricted opportunities, the national meth epidemic has had disastrous consequence to Native communities. Sadly, Pine Ridge has the lowest life expectancy in the United States, with the per capita income at less than $9,000 a year. Living conditions for Pine Ridge have been named the lowest in South Dakota, while poverty rates are the highest.

"Drug overdoses steal the lives of nearly 5% of our people, often leaving traumatized orphans
to be raised by rapidly declining elders."

According to the FBI, around 50 percent of all violent crimes “involve meth in some capacity.” Currently, Indian Health Services (IHS) spends nearly $28 million fighting meth on Reservations, that cover 175 entities across the nation. Even with all of those resources, 61% of meth users on the Rez will relapse in less than a year. So why aren’t they winning? Why isn’t what they are doing working?

As a focus project of Movement Training Network, the Mothers Against Meth Alliance is building upon the outstanding work of MAMAs founder and LELV water protector, Julie Richard.

ABOUT JULZ:

Known as "Mama Julz" by practically everyone who knows her, Julie is Oglala Lakota and has lived on the Pine Ridge Rez her entire life. Born from her attempts to rescue her daughters from the grasp of legacy meth addiction, Julz is the founder of Mother's Against Meth Alliance (MAMAs).

For nearly a decade, Julz has been relying heavily on ceremonies and her personal connections to the ancestors, to aid, support, and care for meth addicted individuals and their families. Julz sees the path forward as one of traditional tribal restorative justice practices that, like those of our ancestors, view "criminality" as a violation of personal rights. Instead of demanding punishment for addiction, she is capitalizing on second chances. By focusing her work through holistic community connection, Julz is promoting the healing and the strengthening of generational bonds necessary to overcome addiction and restore healthy connection to families, culture, and community.

BIG PLANS:

Currently Julz has acquired land near Pine Ridge where she is planning to create traditional Indigenous healing space for our relatives who are addicted to methamphetamines. The property will include a medicinal garden, sweat lodges, as well as an after-detox, temporary, and self-empowering, sober living space.

While currently raising funds for her dream space, Julz has been working to institute a proven method of meth addiction success, an incentive program for those coming out of detox. Science has proven that the success rates of those coming off of meth addiction are higher, the farther they get from the the time of their addiction. This is a 16-week program hopes to encourage, educate, and empower those addicted on Pine Ridge to keep going strong, while simultaneously enveloping them in traditional Lakota ceremonies of reconciliation and reunification to family.

Restore Traditional Indigenous Healing to Halt Meth!

By Movement Training Network

Restore Traditional Indigenous Healing to Halt Meth!

Support for Mama Julz!