Alfred Leo Smith

Alfred Leo Smith (November 6, 1919 - November 19, 2014), also known as Al Smith, was a Klamath Nation drug and alcohol counselor and Native American activist from Oregon.

Smith was born on November 6, 1919 in Modoc Point, Oregon. He spent his early childhood on the Williamson River.

At age seven, Smith was sent to a nearby Catholic boarding school at the insistence of local Indian agents. He was ultimately sent to a mix of catholic schools and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, as far away as Beaverton, Oregon and Stewart Indian School in Nevada. After leaving Chemawa Indian School, he began to live in Portland, Oregon as an alcoholic panhandler. He was drafted during World War II and was sent to federal prison for drinking on duty. He survived a bout of tuberculosis, and experienced the 1942 death of his sister and 1950 death of his mother. The United States Congress also voted to terminate the Klamath Nation in 1954, striking another blow against Smith.

In 1957, Smith becames sober with the help of an Alcoholics Anonymous program, ultimately celebrating 56 years of sobriety. He also became interested in Native recovery through culturally relevant practices and indigenous spirituality.

Smith began working for the Portland Alcoholism Counseling and Recovery Program, helping alcoholics in a community he knew well. In 1972, the Bureau of Indian Affairs hired Smith to set up a number of tribal treatment programs across the United States. He also worked in the Klamath Basin on drug and alcohol recovery issues, where he was able to reconnect with his heritage and culture.

In 1972, Al Smith began to work at Sweathouse Lodge, part of the Chicano-Indian Study Center of Oregon founded on the site of Camp Adair. His position as treatment coordinator allowed him to combine AA principles with traditional Native spiritual practices, particularly the daily sweat lodge ceremony.

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