Conrad Johnson entered prison a teenager, and figured he’d leave a dead man.⁠ ⁠ In 1995, he committed one of Winnipeg’s most shocking gang crimes, shooting 13-year-old Joseph Spence in the back with a sawed-off shotgun. He had mistaken the Grade 7 student for a rival gang member. Prosecutors tried Mr. Johnson, then 15 years of age, as an adult and a judge handed him a life sentence.⁠ ⁠ Once behind bars, rival gang members took their turn at payback. During one stint at a maximum-security prison in Bath, Ont., an inmate stabbed him 36 times. He lived. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to.⁠ ⁠ A short time later, in 2005, he met with a prison psychologist who encouraged him to apply for residence at Stan Daniels Healing Centre. Mr. Johnson, who is Cree, had never heard of a healing lodge – a made-in-Canada idea hatched in the late 1980s in response to rising rates of Indigenous incarceration – but he was willing to try anything to escape pen life.⁠ ⁠ He arrived at the Edmonton-based lodge as a 25-year-old, full of rage and resentment. Born to a mother imprisoned at Manitoba’s biggest youth detention centre before being shunted to the child-welfare system, he’d never engaged his First Nation roots.⁠ ⁠ The concept involved surrounding Indigenous offenders with Indigenous culture, traditional ceremonies and the constant guidance of elders. He spent hours in a sweat lodge, smudged and worked with elders. The emphasis was on healing, not retribution.⁠ ⁠ And just like that, his violent streak ended. “The way I see it, I was born right here in Stan Daniels,” says Mr. Johnson, now 42 years old. “I’ll always be grateful for this place.”⁠ ⁠ But he worries other Indigenous people won’t get the same opportunity. Lately, the Stan Daniels Healing Centre has been half empty, and it’s not alone. The Globe and Mail found similar healing lodges are underfunded and underused across the country, and remain scarce despite their proven efficacy and continued government commitments to build more.⁠ ⁠ Follow the link in our bio for the full story by Patrick White. Photos by Jason Franson (@j.franson)⁠ .⁠ #HealingLodge #Incarceration #IndigenousIncarceration #Rehabilitation #IndigenousHealing