Special Series: Journey of Recovery – Interview with Chaniel Grant

The Journey of Recovery interview series highlights the stories of Montanans with lived experiences of trauma, substance use and mental health struggles and who are on the path of recovery. These interviews share how people can move forward and empower others to do the same.

In this interview with Chaniel Grant, a coordinator with Healing to Wellness Court Projects, Mountain Pacific’s Sarah Byrnes learns how Chaniel’s connection to community has helped her on her journey of recovery.

Transcript

Sarah Byrnes: 0:02

Announcer, one chapter does not define a person's whole story. Welcome to our journey of recovery series where we talk with Montanans who have lived experience of trauma, substance use and struggles with mental health, about where they are now the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA defines recovery as a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self directed life and strive to reach their full potential. Join us to learn about community members in recovery as they share their story and the steps they are taking to help others on their journey. Can we start with just your introduction of yourself?

Chaniel Grant: 0:44

My everybody calls me Shanti. I'm from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana. I work at the tribal court for a healing to wellness Court program. I'm a coordinator. It's like a tribal model of a treatment court. I I have two kids, two sons. I'm married. Hobbies. I really like to bead. You know, I love to go outdoors. I love the outdoors. I love to swim and be around water. So I'm, I'm very big on outdoor stuff in the summertime.

Sarah Byrnes: 1:31

Hey, that's great. Live in a great place for that, right? And so what would you say your daily and or long term goals normally are?

Chaniel Grant: 1:46

Daily goals are just to do the best I can every day. You know, take it day by even minute by minute. Sometimes my long term goals are I do want to go further my education. I, you know, I want to, I want to do my masters in social work, and one day, hopefully do a JD program. Because ultimately, I'd like to come back to the court system, but in a different role as a judge, or possibly, you know, take my background somewhere where I can help programs like this be implemented across the nation.

Sarah Byrnes: 2:32

And did you mention what the program that you work for does?

Chaniel Grant: 2:39

It's healing to wellness court, and it's a tribal specific model of a treatment court, which is a, you know, it's court involved individuals, they're, they're negatively involved with the court system and largely the the root causes, drugs or alcohol. So helping people who are struggling with substance use disorder find, you know, find ways to treat the cause of the problem, rather than just punitive sentencing like the traditional court models do. So we we we offer a lot of wraparound services and a lot of different cultural really tying our culture into it, community based support. So that's kind of what I do. I coordinate all of that.

Sarah Byrnes: 3:38

What got you into that position? Did you have any personal experience or something else that touched you in your life that made you want to do something to help people involved in the court system?

Chaniel Grant: 3:51

I've always wanted to work with kids, so the you know, I worked a lot with while I was going to school. I'm a social worker. So going to college, I interned with a kind of like a Big Brothers, Big Sisters program there called Friends Forever, mentoring and just working with kids who are at risk. And you know, myself being a kid who kind of comes from that type of background, I I wanted to be, you know, helpful to them and help them, you know, see a different road.

Sarah Byrnes: 4:33

Yeah, was there anyone in your lived experience that you lived up to, like a peer, someone who came and talked about their life that kind of inspired you.

Chaniel Grant: 4:44

I, I grew up a lot around my culture and, you know, just being around our elders and stuff, I've always wanted to be like them. They're, you know, all of them are walking the sober road or the red. Road, as you say, well, just always seeing how you know just, they're just whole people, like whole like, healed people, and I've always wanted to be like them.

Sarah Byrnes: 5:15

Do you have any recent accomplishments or just main, major accomplishments in your life that you'd like to share that are either personal or work related.

Chaniel Grant: 5:24

Um, I, you know, I've, I've gone periods of time of in sobriety, but this is the longest I've ever had sobriety. I'm, I'm coming up on two years in September, in September, yeah, you know, I, I, I feel really strong in my recovery now, and really confident. But I'm, you know, I've really moved. I've had a lot of growth in my cultural journey. So this past year, I've, I'm a, became a leader of the brave dog society with my brother, and that's, it's really important work here in our community, because we're, you know, we're helping our culture move forward, and you know, we're revitalizing traditions. And you know, just really tying myself into that healing process was significant for me, and it just kind of helped me find a deeper sense of self, I guess. And yeah, that's kind of my big accomplishment that you know, I've taken a lot of responsibility, but I've been learning so much along the way, so the rewards are really great in this in this role I have now my new role,

Sarah Byrnes: 6:47

I was gonna say that's great. I mean, that's a huge accomplishment, right? I mean, every time you hit us, even a small milestone, that's something to celebrate, so that you can keep telling yourself like you're doing the right thing, you're doing what you set out to do and, and that's great. Yeah, absolutely. So I, I think that's wonderful. So you said that you're going on your longest time being sober. What were there any recovery services that you really benefited from, or that you feel really impacted your life.

Chaniel Grant: 7:23

I I haven't really accessed traditional like recovery services in that sense, but I guess just connecting with my culture and my traditions and my community that's really been a significant part of my healing process. And, you know, finding that deeper sense of self, like I said, that's really been important for me, and just being a part of the this community, like working in it. And, you know, I started out in a role, like, I'm not like a counselor or anything, but just working with people in that field and being around it has been really powerful. And, you know, just sharing experiences with other people, and I took it upon myself to kind of go through what my, my, you know, my the people I work with, just personally taking the time to kind of go to different activities with them, kind of going alongside them, through their services. And, you know, that's kind of that's been helpful too. So kind of not, not personally accessing it, but also really taking walking with them along the journey. So,

Sarah Byrnes: 8:46

but it sounds like, yeah, your community was a great recovery resource for you to give you some more purpose too. So that sounds amazing, yeah, yeah. And that doesn't necessarily have to be structured, right? I mean community being a good recovery resource, and that it, it really doesn't have to be directed as or labeled as a recovery resource to be a resource in recovery. Yeah, that's, yeah.

Chaniel Grant: 9:12

I think that's important to me. Is just learning working in this field. I You, you see that it's, you know, recovery is not like one size fits all, yeah, and you know, you're, you know, our journeys all look different than what's matters is like what worked for me or what worked for them. You know, that's for me. It's just really rooted in my culture and my community.

Sarah Byrnes: 9:39

That's great when people learn about your lived experience and that you're in recovery, what kind of reactions do you see? Any positive or negative?

Chaniel Grant: 9:50

I feel like I see a lot of positive reactions. You know, of course, there's, you know, a lot of his. Historical trauma goes with the culture. So, you know, when I tell people my culture saved me, you know, there's a lot of negative feedback sometimes about our culture, just because you know historical trauma, you know that has all taught us the fear our cultural ways. So there's a lot of people who are really hesitant to try it. And so it's, you know, those are the only negative things I hear. Like people are like, Oh, you shouldn't mess with that. You know, that's, those are the only really negative things i But most, for the most part, people are really, really, you know, positive and encouraging. And people always come up to me and tell me they're, they look up to me, you know, and that I'm, I'm in, I'm an inspiration to them. So those are all the kinds of things i i get.

Sarah Byrnes: 10:55

Does that help you on your journey? Then to when people are telling you, you know, you You've inspired me to to keep going or to get help.

Chaniel Grant: 11:04

Yeah, and, you know, I've always felt like it's, it's not just about me. I like me recovering, as you know, helping my tribe and my people. So it's bigger than me. And you know, I'm, I'm doing it for them too.

Sarah Byrnes: 11:19

What would you say to someone who is considering recovery, or maybe somebody, maybe that you feel just from your experience might benefit from following a path of their own? What would you say to them? Any advice?

Chaniel Grant: 11:41

I will just say that, you know, it's, you know, I want to, once you start, you know, it's, it's hard, but you just gotta get past those first few hard. You know, the the beginning is the hardest. I think. So really connecting yourself, connecting to people, is going to be your biggest you know it, it's going to help you through those hard moments. So not isolating yourself, but I'm really just try to remember it's your journey, and not to like, you know, if you slip up, don't beat yourself up about it. You know, it's a journey. So it's going to take a while. It didn't happen overnight, so it's not going to be changed overnight. So you gotta do the work. But it's, you know, if you have people around you who are surrounding you that you can connect with that's going to be the best thing for you?

Sarah Byrnes: 12:45

Absolutely. Yeah, I was, I was going to say, we've had a few of these interviews, and a biggest part was having making your own community, having your own community, and then also knowing that it's not perfect, that it's a journey, like you said, and it's not, I made it a point to say it's not the journey to recovery, because recovery doesn't end, and it's not the end, it's a journey of recovery, so that even just that small word, that small change, could really reframe it in someone's brain. That means, you know, it you're not perfect. No one's perfect, right? Like, I mean, that's, that's my viewpoint, personally, is that nobody's perfect. So just making sure that you celebrate your small wins and and, like you said, if you slip up, keep going,

Chaniel Grant: 13:34

it's really important too, sorry. Oh no. Like, for sure, celebrate, celebrate the small things. Like, you know, every every little step of the way, make sure you're celebrating those little victories that you have along the way, because that really makes a big deal to at the end, you know, it's even, even if it's just getting through one tough day, like finding the strength in that and really tight, you know, really, really encouraging you to carry yourself in that way. Because it's, we all have to ground ourselves every single day. So it's, you know, it's, it's about remembering how what your strengths are and finding it.

Sarah Byrnes: 14:18

I know you were saying that you look up to your elders and that they're they're walking the red road, like you said. And so is there any like specific story that you've heard that really resonated with you?

Chaniel Grant: 14:32

Yeah, I just all of them have so many amazing stories. All of them have started out in life, you know, impacted by trauma, and so they alcohol was, like a lot of their, you know, they started out as with alcoholism. And, you know, there was a couple of my elders were explained to us that they were, you know, they. Were, they were out on the streets. They were, you know, drinking heavily every day. And you know, they were, they were bad people. They call themselves that they weren't being very good people. But, you know, they, they took the time to learn the culture, and once they connected, they, you know, they just embraced it. And and the, the main thing that they loved about learning our culture is that, you know, everybody has the opportunity to be, we call it being nitzapi. It's a real person. That's what you're striving to become when you're person in my tribe, and it's, it means, like a whole person. So that's really what their journey is all about. And now, you know, they they went from being learners, and now they're elders in our ways, and they're carrying our culture forward, and, you know, our language. So it's yeah, you know, without them, our ways are going to we won't have them anymore. We don't have our culture anymore, our language and our, our, um, our, our, our worldview is in danger. So it's their stories like that. It's just empowering, because, you know, anybody can be be sitting in their spot. They we all have the opportunity if we want it.

Sarah Byrnes: 16:24

Yeah, that sounds, that sounds like a powerful motivator. I mean, just to preserve your culture and to know that if you're learning from them and and, like you said, Anyone could be sitting in their spot later, later on, once, to carry on the traditions. So, yeah, that's so important, so important. That's a great purpose. Looking back, can you describe any circumstances or events that led you to know that you really wanted to be on that recovery path of recovery?

Chaniel Grant: 16:55

We all have those stories where, you know, especially in the res, the res life could be tough. And, you know, you just see the cycles running through your family, and you see it running through the your people, and that cycle is just so hard to break out of. And for me, it just took, you know, reflecting on all of that and seeing how it's impacting my family, where I I, you know, I wanted to get out of that cycle and be one of the people where we break it. So that was, and I seen it in myself, you know, I seen it in my own self. I was going to start carrying that forward, and I wanted better for my kids. So, you know, just alcohol is a big piece of my whole you know, from when I was just a teenager and I struggled with it for a long, long time, so and so do people in my family. I've lost a lot of family members to alcohol and just just recognizing the cycle is starting again, and through me and I wanted to break it.

Sarah Byrnes: 18:06

So I'm truly amazed every time I hear someone say that they just wanted to break the cycle, how much mental strength and fortitude that takes to just decide every hour, every day, that this is the path that you want to be on, and you're gonna go, you're gonna go through it to get to a better result. Or, and I sounds like you, for you, it's a lot about you know, a better future and preserving your culture, like better future for your kids, preserving the culture for your kids to make sure that they know this, that same purpose, that same culture that you do? Yeah, so, I mean, that sounds amazing. I just want you to know that I like, I really appreciate your story and sharing with us. Is there anything else that you wanted to share with us about your story or your journey?

Chaniel Grant: 19:00

Nope, I think that's covers most of it.

Sarah Byrnes: 19:06

Well, that's amazing. I mean, I'm I'm a stranger, but I'm proud of you, and I think you're doing an amazing job. So I really appreciate your time and talking to me and and doing this interview series

Chaniel Grant: 19:19

of course, thank you there for asking me to be a part of it. Absolutely amazing. Yeah,