The Healing House
A place to heal
Built Environment
The Healing House is located in the former U.S. Forest Service bunkhouse at Portage Bay. The building includes 16 beds, a shared kitchen, and a gathering space within walking distance of shoreline and forest. With light renovation and cultural design elements, it becomes a Tlingit healing institution — sovereign in identity and grounded in community.
Program Model
Healing is cultural, communal, and land-based. Participants learn from elders, peers, and land through subsistence practices, clan knowledge, food harvesting and processing, carving, beading, language, and ceremony.
Cultural Logic
Ceremony restores dignity, identity, and belonging. Clan teachings, songs, regalia, and food practices help participants remember who they are and where they come from. Healing is intergenerational and collective.
Behavioral Health
We integrate somatic and trauma-informed practices that support nervous system regulation, grief processing, and emotional safety. Peer support, re-entry pathways, and family systems work are woven throughout. Behavioral health scaffolds culture, not the other way around.
Daily Life
A typical day may include shoreline walks, harvesting or processing food, storytelling with elders, carving or beading, talking circles, cooking and sharing meals together, breathwork, and time for rest and reflection.