The Effects Of Alcohol On Native American Culture

Could a substance that is legal in the United State, single handily destroy a Cultural society? Alcohol is considered to be one of the great privileges allowed to be consumed by adults. It is often used as a social lubricant to make an individual more comfortable. Despite the many negative effects it might have, it typically outweighs the resistance to not drink. For decades now, the resistance to not drink in the Native American culture has been a battle. A study was done by the centers for disease control and prevention found out that 66 percent of Native Americans, who died from alcohol related cause, were younger than 50 years old. These deaths come from homicides, suicides and even cardiovascular disease. Alcohol has become an underlying
problem among the Native Americans and it is jeopardizing the future of their culture.
Indians die from alcohol-related causes at a rate of four times higher than the rest of United States citizens. Four of the top ten causes of death among Indians are alcohol related injuries resulting from alcohol and substance abuse. Native American homicides are 90 percent more likely to happen that are alcohol-related. This can include unintentional violence brought up because of the inebriation, or that the drunken’ victims become targeted during hate crimes. Sad and upsetting, Native youth are half as likely to die in car accidents because 75 percent of which are alcohol-related. These numbers are dramatically high and will continue to rise. Like I said early how alcohol affects the brain, well now people are starting to take their own lives because of which, Native Americans are two times more likely to commit suicide. The statistics do not lie, and a shocking 75 percent of suicides are because of the consumption of alcohol. Native Americans have been and will continue drinking to their grave, unless the imperative action of the United States and community’s realize the problem, and create a solution.
Alcohol is addictive. Scientist has studied the effects on both light drinkers and heavy drinks. When alcohol is consumed the reward center of the brain is differently affect compared to someone who doesn’t drink as much. The please comes from the release of opioid’s in the brain which are also the endorphins that are triggered. The study found that more opioids were released in a heavy drinker’s brain when given the same amount of alcohol as a lighter drinker. This can be concluded as such. Alcoholics like to drink therefore more endorphins and pleasure for their dirty habit. With the hard lifestyle of being a Native American, it can become easy to fall into the undigable hole of drinking god’s nectar. Let me break down this problem from the beginning.
The problem can vary with gender, age and for the most part the cultural and historical past. From an abstract point of view, the white Europeans who arrived in American brought plenty of alcohol along with other goods. It moved toward that alcohol was deliberately pressed upon the Native Americans. This made alcohol the Europeans number one trade good. This is only the introduction to why the Native American people began to drink. With land being taken over from the Native Americans, being sought to be taught someone who they are not and to lose what was theirs escalated the epidemic. For century’s now the Native American people have chosen to go seek refuge at the bottom of the
bottle. High rates of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome would be devastating for any community, but are even more so within Native American Tribes, which already suffer from discriminatory laws, small territories, poor education, and diminishing cultural pride. Unfortunately, alcohol abuse is very likely to create a cycle of problems, which is one reason why these abuse rates have not decreased considerably over the years. Imagine this scenario; a child is born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome onto a reservation. She attends a reservation school with low qualified teachers and high on moral judgment. Her peers have grown up in a society where alcohol is prevalent and easy to obtain. One study shows the differences between drinking patterns in white and American Indian adolescents found that American Indians abused alcohol at rates 50 to 100 percent higher than the white students (French 2000). Prevalent drinking in her community has contributed to high rates of domestic abuse. Six out of every ten Native American women will be victims of domestic abuse in their lifetime (Miller, Chuchryk 1996). When she becomes pregnant, most likely at a young age. Neither she nor her child will be in a position to contribute positively to her society.
First safe practices are defined, a variety of approaches should be planned and pursued to reduce unsafe situations and to encourage safe behaviors and practices. Standard approaches used by many societies are: alcohol taxation, control of availability; a variety of prescriptive laws (that tell people how to drink and how to behave when they do drink); control of advertising.
Second, community support and activity must be broadly based.
Everyone must share in the responsibility. Not just tribal and other governments, but the private sector, churches, community groups, and families must be involved. Education of the community plays an important role in pursuing these forces. As such, education and the media should define the problems in public health terms and propose possible solutions. Education should emphasize especially the collective or structural basis of the problems. It should also promote the public acceptance of the fairness of control measures and a more equitable distribution of the responsibility for prevention among all who have anything to do with the community. A particular focus that might be beneficial is a partnership with those involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of alcohol. Nevertheless, the focus of education should be on the control of the substance, changes in social and institutional structures, and general improvement in the community. The movement should not dwell on the failures of the minority of individuals who suffer the greatest
problems. Because many of the above measures have been considered important by communities over the years, laws have been passed to punish noncompliance and, hopefully, provide for general deterrence from these behaviors. Most current DUI laws in the United States set legal intoxication at the .10% BAC level, and a level of .05% is usually considered presumed or possible impairment. Most modem countries in the world have stricter BAC levels at a .08%. The American Medical Association and several committees of the Surgeon General's Task Force on Drunk Driving have recommended .05% as a legal level of impairment (U.S. Surgeon General, 1989a; Bonnie, 1985; Grant, 1985; Moser, 1985). A tribe can set and enforce its own definitions. At the very least, drinking by an under-aged person should also be more carefully and consistently enforced. One hopes that this paper has covered all necessary ground, and has inspired the reader, and will assist a number of leaders and communities in positive public health initiatives. Yet there is danger that the topic has been oversimplified. The reader is encouraged to consult other, more detailed treatments of any of the subjects related here. Many additional references have been provided for further reading, and each of them, in turn, has a long list of other references that may also be consulted. This entire search is a worthy endeavor. It represents a task that may at first complicate matters, and possibly extend confusion and lengthen deliberations over alcohol policy and programs. But ultimately, as communities become more knowledgeable and experienced with these public health approaches, some success, brevity and closure will occur in a number of the areas discussed here.