Why was a Native youth drug recovery center really rejected in northern Wisconsin?

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While an Oneida County committee's reason for rejecting a proposed tribal-led youth drug recovery center was the fear it would lower property values, many in tribal communities are baffled at the county officials’ reasoning.

The 36-bed center was proposed by the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, which serves all 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin and one in Michigan.

The center was to be built in the town of Cassian in Oneida County to serve tribal and non-tribal youth who would voluntarily seek help to recover from substance abuse.

The committee rejected a study submitted by the tribal council showing that such facilities don't decrease property values because the study was based in larger cities, such as Seattle, which it said aren't comparable to Cassian, which has a population of 1,000.

But tribal leaders question why the committee would then accept a study submitted by Cassian officials showing that those types of centers decreased property values, even though that study was similarly based in a city much larger than Cassian — Richmond, Virginia, with a population of 229,000.

The phrase “NIMBY” or “not in my backyard” was mentioned at the meeting in which the county committee rejected the proposal and many suspect that may be part of the real reason why it was rejected.

But Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican President Shannon Holsey said, “It is already in your backyard,” referring to the high rate of opioid addiction in Oneida County.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that residents from the tri-county area of Oneida, Forest and Vilas has among the state's highest rates of those who sought treatment for opioid addiction in 2020.

The region also has among the highest rates of opioid overdose deaths from 2014 to 2022, with people ages 18 to 44 suffering the most.

The drug treatment center initially received praise by state officials, including Gov. Tony Evers, for addressing the issue in northern Wisconsin, where many residents have to travel hours away to receive treatment.

Bryan Bainbridge, the chief executive officer for the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, alleged that some officials and residents during the process were more opposed to the project because it was being developed by an Indigenous group.

Holsey has vowed, “This is not the end,” and said the tribes will continue to look for a way to develop the facility in northern Wisconsin.

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About me

I'm Frank Vaisvilas, the Indigenous affairs reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . I cover Native American issues in Wisconsin. You can reach me at 815-260-2262 or fvaisvilas@gannett.com , or on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why was a Native youth drug recovery center really rejected in northern Wisconsin?