Prescott, Arizona. Native owned and operated.
Healing rooted in culture, community + connection
Most people wait a long time before they call.
Some think they cannot pay for it. Some went to a program once where the culture part was a craft hour on Thursdays, and they left early. Some do not want to be the only Native American in the room again.
We hear all of this on the phone, and we understand it. A lot of us waited too, for the same reasons. We also know what waiting costs, because we see it every week. You do not have to have it figured out before you call. That is what the call is for.
What is different here
Thundermaker is a licensed addiction treatment center in Prescott, Arizona, owned and run by Natives. Indigenous ceremony and clinical care happen in the same place: a sweat lodge on the land, counseling and clinical care in the building beside it, and people who will know your name by the second day. Call and we will talk through whether it fits and how it gets paid for. IHS, AHCCCS, or your tribe may cover it.
The lodge is part of treatment, not an add-on. So is the drum, the smudge, the garden, and the elders who come to sit with us. People here grow food and practice traditional arts in Indigenous design: beading, gourds, leather, carving, rattles. That work is part of the day, not a break from it. The clinical side is here too, and it is serious: licensed counselors, trauma-informed therapy and EMDR, relapse prevention, and structured PHP and IOP programs.
Cost is the other thing people ask about first. Most of the relatives here did not pay out of pocket. AHCCCS covers many Arizona residents. If you are enrolled in a tribe served by the IHS Nashville Area, your service unit's PRC office may pay. Some tribes pay directly. We sort that out with you on the first call and do the paperwork with your office ourselves.
Life at Thundermaker
Some of the Thundermaker team, Prescott
The people you will be working with
Thundermaker was started by Natives, some of them in recovery themselves. Our co-founders, Arrow Funmaker and Hunter Thundercloud, are Ho-Chunk. The staff includes licensed clinicians, elders, and cultural leaders from many nations, and people who went through this program, stayed, and now lead in it. We know what it takes to leave home for treatment, and we know what it takes clinically to make the treatment hold.
This September the Ho-Chunk Nation newspaper put us on its front page. What our co-founders told the reporter is still the shortest way to say what we do: ceremony is treatment, culture is prevention.
- Licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services, license OTC20145
- NPI 1821896051
- Confirmed IHS PRC provider, Nashville Area
- ADOT-recognized DUI program
- Home of the Controlled Fire podcast
- Featured on the front page of Hocak Worak
How it starts
- You call
(928) 531-1930, any hour. An admissions coordinator asks what is going on, answers your questions, and tells you honestly whether this is the right place. We go over payment on that same call.
- We handle the approvals
If PRC, AHCCCS, or your tribe is paying, we take care of the authorization with them. You send your enrollment and a couple of documents. That is usually all of it.
- You come to Prescott
We are at 1045 Whipple Street, Prescott, Arizona 86305. We set a date and help with the trip. Someone is waiting for you when you get here.
Programs at Thundermaker
Cultural and Traditional Program
- Traditional sweat lodge
- Drum therapy
- Garden, food sovereignty, and medicine harvesting
- Traditional arts and Indigenous design: beading, gourds, carving
- Storytelling and Indigenous art
- Elders and cultural leaders from many nations
Outpatient Services
- Individual, family, and couples counseling
- Trauma-informed therapy and EMDR
- Relapse prevention and skills groups
- PHP and IOP
- Telehealth and in person
Court-Ordered Programs
- DUI education and treatment, recognized by ADOT
- Anger management
- Reporting handled with the court from start to finish
Questions people ask before they call
If yours is not here, ask it on the phone. There is no wrong question.
What is Native American addiction treatment at Thundermaker?
Licensed clinical care and Indigenous ceremony in the same program, on the same days. Counseling, trauma-informed therapy and EMDR, relapse prevention, and PHP and IOP run alongside the sweat lodge, the drum, the garden, and traditional arts, with elders and cultural leaders from many nations. Most of the staff are Native American, and some went through this program themselves. Read more about Native American addiction treatment here.
Does IHS pay for addiction treatment at Thundermaker?
It may. Thundermaker Wellness Center is a confirmed IHS Purchased/Referred Care (PRC) provider for the Nashville Area. If you are enrolled in a tribe served by the Lockport, Mashpee, or Mid-Atlantic Service Units, your service unit's PRC office may authorize and pay for treatment here. Contact your service unit first and request Thundermaker by name, then call us and we handle the paperwork with your office. Read the PRC guide.
Does AHCCCS cover treatment at Thundermaker?
Yes. Thundermaker accepts AHCCCS, Arizona's Medicaid program. Many Arizona residents pay nothing out of pocket. Call (928) 531-1930 and we will check your coverage on the first call.
Is Thundermaker a Native American treatment center?
Yes. Thundermaker Wellness Center is a Native American owned and operated treatment center, founded by Ho-Chunk co-founders Arrow Funmaker and Hunter Thundercloud. Indigenous ceremony, including sweat lodge, drum, and traditional arts, is part of treatment alongside licensed clinical care.
Where is Thundermaker Wellness Center?
1045 Whipple Street, Prescott, Arizona 86305. We serve Native American relatives from Arizona and from tribes across the country, and we help plan travel for people coming from out of state.
What levels of care does Thundermaker offer?
Partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), individual, family, and couples counseling, trauma-informed therapy and EMDR, relapse prevention, and two court-approved programs: DUI education and treatment recognized by ADOT, and anger management.
Referring a client?
Tribal courts, case managers, and IHS or tribal behavioral health staff send people here. Thundermaker is a confirmed IHS PRC provider for the Nashville Area. One admissions contact handles the authorization with your office, and with the client's consent you get updates at intake, mid-treatment, and discharge.
Referral line: (928) 531-1930, ask for Jeri. Fax: (928) 441-1933. Arizona DHS license OTC20145.
Controlled Fire, the podcast
Conversations about recovery and Indigenous healing, recorded here in Prescott. The player is just below, and every episode is on Thundermaker Media.
Front page news
Thundermaker on the front page of the Ho-Chunk Nation newspaper
Ceremony is treatment. Culture is prevention.
Hocak Worak featured our co-founders, our elders, and the relatives healing here in a front-page story on how Thundermaker brings ceremony and clinical care together.
Watch and listen to conversations about Indigenous healing, addiction recovery, and community wellness in our Recovery Media & Podcast section.
Recovery Conversations & Podcast
Begin Your Recovery Journey
You deserve a life of healing, stability, and purpose. At Thundermaker Wellness Center, every person who reaches out is welcomed as a relative. Our team is here to listen and help guide you forward.