History

"What was once the vision of a few is now the hope of many".

In the early 70's a core group of two to three members operated an organization out of an old storefront building on Stoney Plain Road. They then moved to a house on the Enoch Reserve, from there they moved to a church basement on 97th street. Its goal, however, to promote sobriety amongst Aboriginal people through addiction counsellor training remained the same.

Established in 1974 the Nechi Institute, now staffed by over thirty members is situated on 25 acres of land north of Edmonton. The location creates an ideal natural setting for individual growth and development. The 53,000 square foot building now the home of the Nechi Institute is shared with Poundmakers Lodge, a culturally based addictions treatment centre. Thus, becoming the only facility in Canada that combines an Aboriginal training centre with an Aboriginal treatment centre. It is the longest operating facility of its kind in North America. The shared facility which was designed with input from Aboriginal Elders includes training rooms, a cafeteria, gymnasium, a large ceremonial room, three sweat lodges, and residential facilities for 44 training program participants and 54 treatment clients.

Nechi began working with grass roots recovering alcoholics in addictions training, providing the first Addictions Diploma in Alberta. Through culturally sensitive training, research and health promotion initiative Nechi provides counsellors, health care workers, social workers, educators, community service agencies, government agencies and other members of the helping professions with the tools and resources to help heal the individual suffering and community devastation caused by addictions and abuse.

In 1996, Nechi commissioned a review of its operations from 1983 to 1995 in order to gauge its level of success and community impact over that period of time. The Nechi Review 1996 "...examine[d] current strengths and areas for improvement, and to identif[ied] potential options and future directions for the organization."

Nechi is a powerful resource for Aboriginal people and their communities. The Nechi Institute is known, in many cultures, as one of the finest Aboriginal training, research and health promotions centres in the world.

Today, Nechi is more than an organization. It is a national movement that is making a world of difference. Everyday, someone somewhere is touched by our work. From coast to coast, Canada’s Aboriginal people are healing from the scars and destruction of alcohol and drug addiction. In partnership with Nechi, they have started their journey toward healthy, addictions free lifestyles.