Muscogee Nation is opening a new $72 million residential treatment center that leaders say will strengthen the tribe’s focus on rehabilitation and holistic healthcare services.
The 34,000-square-foot facility will provide inpatient treatment for tribal citizens recovering from addiction and behavioral health challenges.
A staff of about 75 therapists, treatment providers and people with lived experience have already started filling the space. They will start accepting patients in the coming weeks, according to Muscogee Nation spokesperson Jason Salsman.
Salsman said the Muscogee Healing and Recovery Center will allow tribal citizens to receive culturally competent care without leaving their community. It’s a dream the tribe has had for years, initiated by local leaders who witnessed the impact of addiction firsthand.
“Now, we have a place of our own,” Salsman said. “The facility is specifically designed for our people.”
The treatment center is located on a 27-acre plot of land, a short drive from downtown Muskogee. It has 15 private rooms for men, 13 private rooms for women and designated areas for individual and group therapy.
Muscogee culture is baked into the center’s design, Salsman said. Residential patients will be able to reconnect with tradition during cooking classes in an on-site kitchen and engage with Muscogee art decorating the facility walls.
“We want them to feel like when they walk in, they’re in a place that belongs to them,” he said.
The tribe commissioned local artists to create pieces for the facility, including a large, wooden installation decorated with Mississippian designs and motifs by Muscogee artist Dan Beaver that hangs in the lobby.
It’s a similar approach to the one taken by Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah.
Muscogee Nation bought the treatment center building in 2023 using funds from the tribe’s Department of Health. It was already outfitted for residential treatment and needed only minor fixes to meet their patients’ needs, Salsman said.
He said the majority of patients at the Muscogee Healing and Recovery Center will be connected to care through referrals from other providers in the nation’s healthcare system. All patients must be there willingly and agree to receive treatment.
Principal Chief David Hill performed the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility last week, surrounded by future employees and tribal citizens. He said the treatment center, designed with Muscogee lifeways in mind, will have a “generational” effect on the Muscogee people.
“It’s another milestone for the Muscogee Nation,” Chief Hill said in a statement. “We gain our strength from community. So these battles should be waged in a place where they feel support, where they feel invested in and, most importantly, where they feel Mvskoke.”
The treatment center is part of the tribe’s larger effort to expand its healthcare system, Salsman said. He said Muscogee Nation aims to meet citizens during every step of their journey to wellness and long-term recovery.
He said taking care into their own hands also reinforces tribal sovereignty.
“That’s what it’s about — having the autonomy to make sure that we’re doing things the right way and the way we want to do them, and the way that is culturally relevant for us,” Salsman said.
This article was originally published by KOSU. You can see the original story here.