By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Few neighborhood residents are probably aware that Rainier Beach is home to a drug- and alcohol-treatment center run by the Seattle Indian Health Board. The Thunderbird Treatment Center is on Renton Avenue and treats American Indians from tribes across the West as well as people of other races.

Rebecca Gonzales, an assistant director, says treatment for Indians can include weekly "sweats" in a small hut and "talking circles," which incorporate traditional Indian healing ceremonies.

Gonzales, who has lived her entire life in the Rainier Valley, says the treatment center likes to keep a low profile for fear of riling the neighbors. The Rainier Beach community so far has been accepting of the center, which is housed in the 1926 Florence Crittenden Home for unwed mothers.

For the most part, Gonzales says she feels safe moving around the community, though less so at night. "I also know not to honk my horn or not to stare at people. I guess that is a fear."

She sums up the attitudes of many residents: "I'm comfortable here but cautious."