Recovery and Connection

In this episode, we speak with Lee Yaiva, CEO of Scottsdale Recovery Center. With over 20 years in the recovery field, Lee shares his insights on working with Tribal communities, how those connections evolved during the pandemic, and the importance of culturally informed care in healing and recovery.

This podcast shares Indigenous stories of resilience and mental wellbeing during and after COVID-19. Hear from first responders, educators, traditional knowledge holders, and recovery community members as they reflect on challenges, lessons, and culturally grounded healing. Each episode also highlights local resources for Indigenous communities in northern Arizona.

Created by NAU’s Center for Community Health and Engaged Research (CHER) with Hopi and Navajo Tribal members. Funded by Project HOPE.

We would like to acknowledge Dr. Darold Joseph for sharing his beautiful flute recordings with us. It brought a meaningful dimension to the podcast and his artistry is sincerely appreciated.

Resources: https://linktr.ee/voicesnativenations

Transcript

Alexis Talayumptewa: 0:03

Hello, and welcome to Voices of Native Nations in the Southwest during the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm Alexis Talayumptewa, and in this series, we're speaking with community members who stepped forward in unique and powerful ways during the pandemic. These conversations will highlight the lived experiences of first responders, educators, traditional knowledge holders, and practitioners, and members of the recovery community from Native Nations in the Southwest. Their stories offer wisdom, strength, and lessons for our communities and future generations. Today I am honored to welcome Lee Yaiva, the CEO for Scottsdale Recovery Center from Soongopavi. Lee, thank you for joining us and sharing your story.

Lee Yaiva: 0:52

Absolutely. It's my pleasure.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 0:55

Could you begin by telling us about your role and your connection to your community before and during the pandemic?

Lee Yaiva: 1:02

So I have been in the industry for over 20 years and have been the CEO for Scottsdale Recovery Center for the past eight. And during that time prior to the pandemic, my interactions with the tribal community were uh probably once every other month. I would go out, whether it be a speaking engagement, cultural ceremony, uh, visiting with friends and family. It was a relationship that I had kind of become accustomed to. So I would go out every once in a while and maybe a little bit more frequently if there was a need. But outside of that, that was kind of my interactions back home going back home for ceremony, friends and family, and then just going back for speaking engagement or to support the recovery community back home. And during the pandemic, my interactions with people back home was super limited. There was inaccessibility to my village in particular. And I think it was like that throughout the entire res because I remember going home and they had some parameters in place that restricted access to the village unless you were actually a village member and you had to confirm and verify. And there was like uh checkpoints at every village that I went to. And so at that time it was very restricted. And after a while, I didn't even go home. And there was a lot of barriers to be able to attend funerals, check on people in the hospitals. I think those things were imposed everywhere. And so my connection with the tribal community became very limited during that time. And it was like that with friends and family as well. I didn't go out that entire time, I don't believe, for any type of organizational or professional responsibility. So it was like that for a good, at minimum, three to four years.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 2:38

What did you learn from the COVID-19 pandemic in your role as a member of the recovery community?

Lee Yaiva: 2:45

It's multifaceted. There were several layers of an experience in relation to the pandemic that I learned. And in particular, as a professional in the recovery community, it was an event that nobody was prepared for. It was something that I think really it really humbled a lot of people. Regardless of your experience, your expertise, accessibility to knowledge and information, nobody knew what to do. And so during that time, it was really a period of vulnerability for people, especially in leadership positions, because we had to connect with one another. We had to share resources, knowledge and information, latest data and information that was being utilized across the industry. And what I really appreciated about it is that there was a ton of cohesion. Prior to that, you know, kind of everybody functioned in silos. So there wasn't a lot of cross-collaboration, there wasn't a lot of cohesion in the industry. There was, but it had, there were, there were kind of isolated pockets. And so when everything started to happen with the pandemic, there was a lot of people that were congregating and sharing information and supporting one another and checking on one another. And, you know, I think prior to that, it I didn't really see that as much. So that vulnerability, especially in positions of leadership, it was overwhelming to a degree because I really understood the nature of my responsibility to the people, but it was something that it was a standard and expectation that was self-imposed. But during the pandemic, it was defined it a lot more for me, the responsibility that I have to the recovery community and to the people within our care. And so it was humbling. There was a lot of acceptance, you know, especially in regards to being able to express like, I don't know. When people were coming in, they were saying, what are we going to do about this? What are we going to do about that? And being able to look at people and say, I don't know, but I'll find out. And typically prior to that, I was very equipped to be able to provide directive, support, guidance, and make sure that we were on a trajectory that allowed us to practice within the confines of our licensure and the organizational values and mission of what SRC represented. But when the pandemic happened, that really challenged me to a point to where like I had to make sure that everybody knew I was in this right alongside them. And so part of that responsibility is that at times people were uncomfortable with coming to work or to go into a certain environment. And so I would make it a point to go in there and show them like I'm no different than you. And regardless of my role and function, I'm going to be just as committed as I'm asking you to be. And so there was a lot of humility in that practice, but also a lot of cohesion amongst our team and at SRC. And I think that was something that I really took away from that was just we all have the capacity and the ability, but we don't always execute it. And so during that time, I saw a lot of people really overcoming fears, prioritizing their faith, prioritizing the practice and their role and responsibility to the individual client that we're here to serve. And throughout that entire period, people got sick, but nobody died in our care. And that was something that I remember looking at in the eyes of parents or husbands, wives, and they would come and they would say, Is my son or daughter, is my wife, my husband, going to be safe in this environment? And I told them yes, and that I would take care of them. And after the entirety of the pandemic, once it started to subside, I was really proud to be able to say that there was people we did quarantine and some people did have to go to the hospital, maybe like two or three people. But outside of that, there was no major situation or circumstances where people or there was an event of lost life. So I was really happy about that. And you know, if I'm looking at the bright side of things.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 6:15

What sustained you during the pandemic in this role?

Lee Yaiva: 6:19

I think one of the biggest challenges is that my family, we lost eight people during the pandemic. And I have a huge responsibility to not just this community, but also the cultural responsibility and the expectations back home. And it was very difficult for me to navigate two simultaneously. And I had to get to a point to where I knew that my responsibility was here. And although I wanted to come home for funerals or to see people that had gotten sick or, you know, just to be able to have that interaction was unavailable to me at that time. And so what I really did is I put a lot of emphasis on my like just faith, not just faith in me, not just faith in the organization or, you know, prayer and cultural practice. It was just faith in every regard about what we were doing, what the anticipated outcome would look like, that my family knew that I loved them, regardless of the fact that I was there or I wasn't. And so it was really something that consistently drove me. So there was a lot of prayer, just a lot of connecting with the spiritual component of my being to make sure that I stayed compliant with that, regardless of the situation. And so when all of this was going down and it started to get really serious, I think that's when my faith was even more, you know, I really started to implement a practice that was consistent. And I was praying all the time. I was, you know, just connecting with myself in a different kind of way. And that's really what helped sustain me throughout that entire period. And really just trusting in processes, trusting the people that we had in the various positions of expertise within the organization, trusting that my family was there and they were of support to one another and checking on each other. And so it was just a lot of that, just reinforcing that from a position of value and just honoring it for what it was, because it was very difficult to find that sustainability. But at the same time, everybody was looking to me for that, for the guidance, for the support to alleviate the fears and concerns. So I didn't have the luxury of expressing outwardly my emotions, my own fears or concerns, because my responsibility to this population of people was just that. They came to me for that guidance and support. And I assure you though, there was times when I would be on my way home and I would cry. It really allowed me to assess the true value of life and just how fortunate that I have been. And I just wanted to continue to do what I could do to keep everybody safe. But I think really just faith and cultural traditional practices that I could complete at home or here at work were the things that really sustained me during that time.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 8:44

That's some important values that you have. Thank you for sharing that. What were your sources of strength or hope during that time?

Lee Yaiva: 8:52

Like I had mentioned, culture, prayer, a lot of flexibility. Typically, I'm very linear in my practice. So I identify an objective, I pursue it, I acquire it, and move on. This was something that was very different. So I had to maintain flexibility to ensure that I wasn't super rigid in my directives or what the expected outcome was supposed to look like, because again, nobody knew what that was supposed to look like. And so for me, especially in the very beginning, I remember I got our entire executive team into an office and I told them, we're not leaving here until we come up with a plan that we can implement to keep this organization and the people within it safe. And so, you know, it was it was everybody stretching beyond their limits, stretching beyond what they felt comfortable with, stretching beyond what they knew had to be done. And so it was really challenging, but I think part of that strength came from just in reality looking at it as a really a unique opportunity for me to direct this organization from a position of cultural understanding back home. I always tell people all the time, I get paid to be cool. That's it. Regardless of the situation, I don't freak out, I don't panic, I'm not very driven by emotion. I'm very logical in the way that I implement strategy. And so one of those things is that I watch all the kikmoys or the moist back home and they're the same way. They execute from a position of knowledge and understanding with a very distinct sense of faith and what we're doing it for. And so for me, that sense of strength came from people like my godfather Redford Kumahung Niwahu. I've watched him lead in that way. And I've watched members of my family on both sides, both male and female, um, function from that position. So it was really a source of a rooted foundation to for me to be able to stand upon and know that regardless of how difficult or how challenging it may be, the predecessors that have come before me have shown me that resilience, strength, conviction, stamina, the things that we need to be in positions of hierarchy have already been established. And all I needed to do was trust in it and follow it. And that's exactly what I did. Um, but I'll I will say again, it wasn't easy, but it was something that I tapped into and I would find myself on occasion thinking, what would they do? How would they execute or express this message? How would they navigate this? Because they did it in such a distinct way that for me personally, that I would focus on and I would want to mimic. And back then I wasn't in no kind of position to do much of anything, but I'm lucky that I did have that experience because I took that and then I applied it um during the pandemic. So that really was a foundation for strength, and I tapped into it and I really did it in a way too to pay homage to the people that came before me that were in leadership positions before and and really kind of paving the way for me. Because the last thing I wanted to do, and I didn't even feel like it was an option, was to tucktail and run, or to say I wasn't equipped, or to say it was too overwhelming, or I couldn't handle it. That wasn't an option for me. And it was because of the strength of our people and our predecessors and the people that had come before us that really showed me that. And we as a people have been through hardships for centuries and we're still here. And I remember at that time just thinking about the things that they had gone through and to even afford me the opportunity that I have now. And so that's kind of where I functioned from, just from that historical value of what had been accomplished before me.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 12:12

Can you share a moment or a memory from that time that stands out to you?

Lee Yaiva: 12:18

The disconnect with family during funerals, um, not being able to go home, the limitation on the amount of people that could be, you know, to go into the hospital. That was very challenging. But for me, the one thing that I really rested on was the fact that my family knew that I loved them. They knew that I cared. It was uncommon for me to pick up the phone and call my sister and tell her I loved her, or to talk to my grandmother and do the same thing. Sometimes I would call just to say that. And so they knew it wasn't something like I had any kind of regrets about um not having had expressed how I felt about my family. So they were all very aware, but that was one thing that really stood out. But in addition to that, the things that we did to try and normalize what was going on, especially with uh my kids, I have twin boys, and uh, I remember we had Halloween in the house, and it's a two-story home. And each door, I had the kids come to the door and knock on the door, and they would say trick-or-treat, and then I'd run to the next room and they'd do that, and they did that for every room in the house. And it was us just trying to not take away the experience and not present that we were in a challenging time, even though it was super evident, but we still did things to make sure that they knew that regardless of what's going on, you're still going to have these experiences, we're still going to have these milestones, we're still gonna have your birthday, we're still gonna celebrate Christmas, we're still we just had to figure out how to do it in a different way. So, in reality, because we weren't going out all the time, we weren't going like Christmas shopping or anything like that, it took on a new tone, and there was a lot of um very distinct things that we did that were more personalized and more intimate as opposed to events prior. And so I always remember that, and we actually took a lot of video and there was just a lot of time that was spent with my family in particular, just the core unit of my family with my kids and their mom, and really trying to make sure that they didn't feel the burden that we were in as a nation or within the world. And regardless of what was happening, I think that there was a lot of value during that time because we spent so much quality time with one another and it was super intimate. We weren't going out, we weren't distracted by you know the environmental influence. It was just in our living room and we were reading stories, you know, playing music, like just doing things that we weren't doing before. And I think out of this entire day uh they're 12 years old, but during that time, I think that was probably what really defined our relationship. So I think that's one of those things that really not only gave me a source of strength and hope, but just really a lasting memory about a time that was challenging, but they were just a source of comfort and love. And, you know, we honored what we had at that time. So I think that's one that really stands out to me.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 14:55

How did your experience during the pandemic impact you personally, professionally, or within your community?

Lee Yaiva: 15:02

Personally, it invoked a sense of gratitude about my life and and the experiences that I've had. I'm I'm 20 years clean. I've gone from homelessness, incarceration, drug addiction, alcoholism. I mean, I've been through a lot in my life. And to have gone from that to where I was at that time during the pandemic, it was just something that I really I look back at my life and I even I remember thinking, even if some if I got sick and something was to happen to me, I lived a good life. I've I've gone from one end of the spectrum all the way to the other. And, you know, it even though there was this, you know, I wasn't trying to create a sense of impending doom, but I was also dealing with reality. I mean, literally for a few months straight, we were burying another family member. And so it was hard to not look at life and the potentials of what might happen. And, you know, so I remember during that time just thinking to myself and praying, I hope I make it to their birthday, or I hope I make it to Christmas, or I hope I make it to the 4th of July. And there was all these milestones that I kind of put in front of me so that way I could look back and recognize that these are things that I overcame and then I would establish a new one in hopes that I would make it to that point. And so personally for me, it was just a lot of really emphasizing the value of life, the time that I spend with my children, what I teach them. And on the other side of it, too, what was really, I think, impactful as a community, but also individually, was we lost a great deal of knowledge as a people. All like there, there was elders that had a tremendous amount of knowledge and information about cultural practice and things that were happening ceremonially that they took with them and they never passed it on before that loss. And it wasn't just impactful to one or two different things, it was across the board. So every ceremony that would happen, they would typically go back and talk to somebody who an elder that had had that experience or had the knowledge, and they were no longer available. And that had a tremendous impact, and it really defined a lot for people and recognizing, you know, us not harboring that information, but sharing it, passing on that information and making sure that it creates sustainability for our people, our community, our language, our practices. And so when that happened, I think there was a lot more emphasis placed on having that relationship with your elders or your uncles or your uhs or whoever it was. And so as a community, I think that was super impactful, but it was also something that impacted me personally because it expedited the responsibility of the things that I thought I would be able to learn from people that are no longer here. And I always projected, like, oh, one day they're gonna teach me this or they're gonna teach me that. And then that day never came. And all of a sudden, that responsibility was placed on me, and I was ill-equipped to deal with it because I didn't learn from them. And so I think a lot of people experienced that as well. But as a professional, the leadership team that we've developed here at Scottsdale Recovery is the exact same leadership team that I started with, which says a lot, especially in this industry. But what happened during that time is it really created a lot of cohesion. It really created a lot of trust, faith, and belief in one another, in ourselves as an organization. And having those experiences, it really was a defining moment for everybody on this team because we all felt the same. We all understood the gravity of the responsibility that we had to the people. And no matter what, at the end of the day, we would all kind of sit back and you know have like a debrief of about the day and what needed to be done and you know, keeping track of data, and we're just doing a bunch of different things. But it was impactful to me simply because I saw people grow in a number of different ways simultaneously. So it was about honoring family, assuming that elevated standard of expectations for their role and responsibility to the people and to the organization. It was having a sense of faith, maybe even more so than they did before. There were so many things that were happening during that time. But I literally got the pleasure of watching people grow in the organization in ways that I don't think they anticipated. I don't think anybody really knew the, you know, what would happen during this time, but the aftermath of it, we would sit back and we would just think about, you know, in not so much in a comical way, but we would have some time where we would laugh and we'd think about, oh, do you remember when we did this? And do you remember when this happened? And, you know, and and we would just sit back and honor the fact that we went through it together. So professionally, it really solidified a bond for this team. And that's one thing that I really appreciate. And I think that's part of the reason why that exact same team is still all together to this day.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 19:26

What do you hope others, especially younger generations, take away from your experience?

Lee Yaiva: 19:33

I know it sounds cliche, but at the same time, it's really important to honor life, respect it for what it is, take advantage of opportunities, really learn how to navigate life amongst the fear and uncertainty and take leaps of faith. Trust in the perception of self and the opportunities that are afforded to you. I think prior to that, um, especially when dealing with the younger population, in my perception, there was always a hesitation about pursuing information or asking questions or, you know, being expressive to the point where there was some sense of responsibility to provide feedback or guidance. And after that, I feel like the younger population was more outspoken because they understood the gravity of what happened by the loss of information, the people that were knowledge keepers or the ones that had songs, they were no longer here. So they started asking a lot more. I feel like they got a lot more engaged than prior. And so that would just continue to just be my suggestion is to just live, take advantage of the opportunity to uh truly embrace and recognize the opportunities that you have in front of you every single day. You know, having gone through something like that, especially as a uh younger person, I can't imagine what they took away from that. I'm pretty sure if you were to ask somebody that was a lot younger than I am, that they would probably take away some significant value of that experience. And I think it's important to ask them as well, to ask them what are some things that you learned? What did you experience? What have you come out with as far as uh information or what did you learn about yourself? So I think ultimately, though, it would just be just live, you know, don't function from a place of fear or uncertainty, take a leap of faith and trust in yourself and just have an amazing experience with life.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 21:15

What message would you share with someone preparing to serve their community in times of crisis?

Lee Yaiva: 21:22

This is one of my personal convictions about being in leadership, is it's not about prestige, it's not about ego, it's not about how you feel. It's about what you know. What can you stand on? And during that time, I know that for me it was um second nature because I think that's again in reference to what I was talking about earlier, about looking at my predecessors and how they navigated challenging times or situations, but really getting to a point to where you really truly understand your role and responsibility. And to be quite honest, I seen a lot of people that left the agency. They went home, they quarantined at home, they never came to work, not within this organization, but I'm just talking about in the industry. And so CEOs were safe, they were comfortable, they were protected, but they still expected the employees to show up. And that's the part where I had mentioned earlier. I showed up, I was here every single day amidst the same fear and uncertainty and you know, the confusion and chaos of the time. I still showed up. And I think it's a really important character quality to have is to be able to recognize this is a position of authority, and how you execute that is gonna let your team, your people, and the people around you know what kind of leader you really are. And you know, for me, it was super important to exude that quality because I've never seen any of our predecessors run away from that responsibility. I've never seen anybody do that. And so when that was happening, it was an option. I could have said, you know what, I'm gonna stay at home, I'm gonna work from, I'm gonna work remote, but nobody in this organization worked remote. You know, it was afforded, it was an opportunity, but rarely did people take advantage of that. And part of it, I really believe, is because I was showing up, the leadership team was here, nobody was making excuses. There was fear across the entire agency, but with consistency, everybody still showed up. And I think that represented this organization very well. And I'm very proud of the organization for what it accomplished during that time. In fact, we grew. We we almost tripled the size of the organization in the middle of the pandemic. And so I was watching other industry partners go out of business or you know, close up shop or condense programming. We did the exact opposite. And so, you know, for us and having that opportunity and that experience, it was just one thing that I really value was that, you know, the ability to recognize my role and responsibility to this team, to the people, to the community, to this industry. And I really did learn a lot. And more, I think it really helped me refine my own personal expectations about what a leader should be. It's one thing to talk about it and say that you're gonna do this and do that, but when it actually happens and to live to it, you know, I wasn't sure. I mean, I didn't I didn't know the pandemic was gonna happen, but when it did, and having that sense of value and responsibility, and I always tell people all the time that serving people is a gift. You either have it or you don't. And if you truly honor that gift, you'll always be protected. You know, you're gonna be taken care of in one way or another. And I trusted that. Like I said, it was a supreme sense of faith based on my responsibility, and it wasn't just given to me, it was something that was afforded to me, and I took advantage of that opportunity and I wasn't about to walk away from that. It wasn't something that I could do to the community or to our team. And like I said, they all showed up. But I think that's something that I was to encourage anybody in a position of leadership is know yourself, know what you're capable of doing, know what your uh limitations are, and if you can go beyond them, equip yourself for that journey.

Alexis Talayumptewa: 24:58

Thank you, Lee, for your time and reflections. Your story contributes to a broader understanding of how native communities responded with resilience, care, and cultural strength during a time of great uncertainty. This is Voices of Native Nations in the Southwest during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we're honored to share these conversations with you. You can listen to more episodes on BuzzSprout.

Melinda Smith: 25:27

Thank you for joining us for Voices of Native Nations in the Southwest during the COVID-19 pandemic podcast series. This podcast was developed by the Center for Community Health and Engaged Research at Northern Arizona University with support from Project Hope, a global health and humanitarian organization transforming the health and well being of communities around the world. For more information and links to resources related to this series, please check the podcast description. Thanks again for listening, and we hope you'll continue to learn from and share these powerful stories.