Butte Native Wellness Center provides vital services to Indigenous population
Wed, August 12, 2026 at 3:07 PM
UpdatedWed, August 12, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Offerings at the Butte Native Wellness Center include WellBriety, which provides culturally based healing to Native Americans going through personal struggles. (Photo: NBC Montana)
BUTTE, Mont. —While Butte is more than 100 miles away from any Native American reservations, there is still a strong Indigenous population in Southwestern Montana, and one newly renovated facility in Uptown is helping keep their culture alive while offering vital services
Open since 2021, the Butte Native Wellness Center is a refuge for Indigenous Montanans seeking healthcare, support, and community. And now it’s been taken to another level with the addition of the Seven Generations Community Space and garden
“We’ve got new talking rooms where we run WellBriety. We have an arts studio to work on traditional practices such as beading and ribbon skirt making, and then we have our garden,” said Tina Randall, executive director of the Butte Native Wellness Center
Blossoming in the garden are traditional native crops like corn, squash, chokecherries, and beans, as well as herbs and medicines. It’s part of an effort to promote food sovereignty
“Especially when you come to an urban area where it’s not as easy to grow some of those traditional foods,” said Randall
Funding came mainly from Montana’s Behavioral Health System for Future Generations Commission that was authorized by the state legislature, allowing the center to incorporate traditional practices along with western medicine
“That makes us unique because we’re also serving the cultural and spiritual aspects of care, not just the medical conditions,” said Randall
“We’re just keeping our urban natives culturally grounded,” said cultural specialist Terryn Williamson
Employees take immense pride in their work, especially with their WellBriety program, which uses cultural touchstones to help Indigenous Montanans who are recovering from addiction
“I was freshly out of incarceration doing beading and WellBriety. Got a job offer and here I am!” said cultural specialist Tiela Gray
“We’re both in recovery. We got to work our recovery into our job description. We get to give back by helping our people,” said Williamson
And best of all, services, including medical and behavioral health care, are free of charge for enrolled tribal members and their eligible descendants thanks to the Indian Health Service
“When somebody walks through our door, they never pay for any care they receive within our building. If they have insurance, we do bill insurance, but we don’t pass along any costs,” said Randall
The grand opening of the center’s new spaces took place last week, featuring native music icon Supamanand Indigenous chef Mariah Gladstone. It shows the power and impact a grassroots effort to preserve culture can make and the importance of preserving culture, with Butte-Silver Bow even pitching in
“When people are coming to our building, they see the four sacred medicines in the four crosswalks. So, they know, culturally, they are headed to the right place,” said Randall
