RED ROAD APPROACH HISTORY

The Red Road Approach (RRA) Model has been in existence for 40-years and was originated and developed by Gene Thin Elk (Sicangu Lakota). His co-developer and co-presenter, Rick Thomas (Isanti Dakota), also played an integral part of the work through the decades. Together they traveled the US bringing RRA teachings, helping countless individuals, families and communities to find healing and recovery from addiction. RRA is a holistic concept that uses prayer as the basis of all healing. There needs to exist a relationship of mutual respect for the afflicted, the medicine (therapy) and the healer (facilitator) for healing to take place. All these essences are present in the Medicine Wheel, which is innate to Native Americans/Alaskan Native/Indigenous Nations. The values of Indigenous people ensure balance by living the cultural traditions through the Red Road. We utilize our ceremonies and belief systems to become whole once again, in balance, walking the sacred Red Road of Recovery. RRA workshops and seminars have been presented to schools, universities, traditional Native ceremonial gatherings, prisons, business corporations, and many other forms of healing gatherings. RRA materials and information are currently being utilized throughout the world.

Generation Red Road, Inc. was founded by J. Carlos Rivera in 2019 out of Sioux Falls, SD. as a platform to fulfill our spiritual agreements which includes NextGen Recovery Program and bringing the teachings of our elders into the next generation. Our vision is to co-create a Red Road of Recovery philosophy that welcomes the insights and gifts of the next generation while honoring the teachings of our ancestors.