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HISTORY
 Poundmaker's
Lodge is known as Canada's first addictions treatment centre
specifically for Aboriginal clients. It has been in
operation for more than 30 years. Poundmaker's Lodge was
named after Chief Poundmaker of Saskatchewan, who was known
for his wisdom and leadership (for more info,
click here).
It
is to the credit of a concerned group of Aboriginal people
in the early 1970s who worked to lobby governments for
support of their vision. Fully aware of how social problems
were affecting Aboriginal people, but more specifically the
devastating impacts of alcohol and drugs they formed a
society to address these concerns. The first signatories to
the society's bylaws signed on April 4, 1973 were Wilton
Littlechild, Christine Daniels (deceased), Madeline Stout,
Kathleen Anderson, and Louis Halfe (deceased). These
visionary people need to be acknowledged for their legacy
that lives on and also to Eric Shirt and Eric Stamp whose
tireless work for the society resulted in the opening of the
treatment program in a small house in downtown Edmonton with
14 beds and seven (7) staff (top picture).
Within
a year or so the program was relocated to the site of the
former Edmonton Indian Residential School near St. Albert
(middle picture). The treatment program operated in the
school until 1984 when a new centre (bottom picture) was
built on the same site where it has provided continuous
addictions treatment since. The name was changed to
Poundmaker's Lodge Treatment Centres (PLTC) in 2000 to
reflect current operations.
Over time PLTC has earned an international reputation for
helping Indigenous people overcome the effects of addiction.
Groups from around the globe have participated in treatment,
studied our methods, and applied them to programs in their
own countries. We continue to welcome international clients.
It is also important to note that while our program focuses
on Aboriginal culture and spirituality, its principles are
universal. Clients from all cultures, traditions and faiths
are welcome.
Accredited with the Canadian Council on Health Services
Accreditation
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