About Thunderbird Treatment Center
Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB) invested $36 million into a state-of-the-art residential treatment facility that integrates cultural healing with modern, comfortable accommodations, including private rooms, a dedicated cultural healing space, an outdoor traditional garden, and customized community and counseling spaces.
Luxury Rooms
High-end living spaces will give residents a chance to relax in comfort and luxury.
High-End Community Spaces
Spa-like communal spaces will incentivize residents to socialize.
Healing Spaces
Cultural spaces will provide residents opportunities to participate in traditional healing practices.
Outdoor Activities
Access to areas for physical activities, traditional gardens, and the natural environment and medicinal resources of Vashon Island.
The Program
Thunderbird’s inpatient program is grounded in culturally based healing, drawing on the teachings of the Red Road to Wellbriety that supports a balanced life rooted in respect for self, others, and creation.
Guided by White Bison’s integration of the Medicine Wheel—and an American Indian and Alaska Native perspective that mirrors the 12-step model—the program offers a holistic path to healing for individuals and families that connects traditional values and community.
While the standard program is 45 days, some programs may be shorter or longer based on an individual’s context.
Thunderbird will be welcoming both individuals and referrals starting in late Summer 2026. To get started on the intake process, please call (206) 324-9360.
Those who are already in the Seattle area will begin their journey at SIHB”s Substance Use Disorder (SUD) program in Seattle International District clinic. The first step will be to complete an SUD assessment. We offer walk-in assessments on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Check-in times: 9:00 am and 1:00 pm only. After the assessment process, and once Thunderbird is open in late summer 2026, if residential treatment is advised by SIHB’s SUD team, relatives may be referred to Thunderbird. If residential treatment is recommended before then, individuals will be referred to other inpatient residential agencies for immediate care.
Those who are not in the Seattle area may be referred by another organization. For more information on the referral process, please submit a Thunderbird Treatment Center interest form.
❝
To be with people who could relate to my experience as a Native person changed everything for me.
Derrick Belgarde (Siletz), Executive Director, Chief Seattle Club, and former Thunderbird graduate
Program Highlights
Residents of Thunderbird Treatment Center will have access to:
- Behavioral health professionals
- Individual and group counseling
- Traditional Indian Medicine professionals
- Outdoor activities
- Programming for pregnant or parenting adults
- Ancillary comprehensive services, including psychiatry, Medication-Assisted Treatment, dental, pharmacy, primary care, and an array of human services
40,347
square feet
Square footage of future Thunderbird Treatment Center facility
92
beds
Number of beds for people healing from substance use disorder
45
day program
Number of days for intensive in-patient treatment (ASAM 3.1 and 3.5)
15
beds
Number of beds reserved for private insurance and self pay
15
beds
Number of beds dedicated to pregnant and parenting people
30+
years
Number of years of intensive inpatient treatment experience
Keeping Families Together
A unique, and very important addition to Thunderbird Treatment Center’s programming will be services for pregnant or parenting adults with young children (ages 0-5). Fifteen beds will be allocated in a wing of the facility for pregnant or parenting adults, where they will have the opportunity to still be with their children as they complete the program.
This groundbreaking component is modeled after the Friendship House’s The Women’s Lodge in Oakland, California, which has seen tremendous success by keeping families together throughout their healing.
❝
Thunderbird saved my life and reconnected me to my culture, community, and family.
Kimberly Brown (Coeur’d Alene), Substance Use Disorder Director, SIHB, and former Thunderbird graduate
Thunderbird Treatment Center’s History
In 1974, SIHB opened a 15-bed residential alcoholism treatment program, which would expand to 46 beds in 1976. After years of success, in 1987, SIHB changed the name to Thunderbird Treatment Center and purchased a facility in South Seattle that would eventually allow them to operate a 64-bed facility.
In 2020, after more than 30 years, SIHB made the tough decision to pause the Thunderbird program after it was determined that the outdated facility was not able to fully meet the needs of SIHB’s residents or vision to expand its staff and services.
After three years of searching for a facility that could accommodate, SIHB purchased a building on Vashon Island for $11 million, and is investing $25 million more for upgrades and renovations. Thunderbird Treatment Center and its legacy of healing will continue in 2026.
Explore More
Addressing a Major Crisis
