Alcohol and the Native American Myths Stereitypes and Realities
Alcohol and the Native American: Myths, Stereotypes, and Realities There are many stereotypes of the “drunken Indian” of which we are all aware. For years, thanks to the magic of Hollywood, we have been bombarded with images of Indians that become out of control with just a sip of alcohol, or ones that sell everything they own just for one more bottle. ... These distorted facts are so pervasive that even some professionals believe the myths to be true. The truth is that there are tribes of American Indians that have higher rates of alcoholism than that of the general population. ... (“Fetal Alcohol”, 1991) There are many myths and theories regarding the pattern of alcohol use among some Native Americans. Some will say Indians with excessive drinking patterns do so as a result of physiological components, inherent characteristics belonging only to American Indians. ... ” (“Red Road”, 1995) There is also disagreements on the origins of alcohol use among American Indians; was it from pre-contact years, or was it introduced to them by the invading Europeans? Current literature on these subjects is often contradictory and non-conclusive, making continued research essential in order to uncover the real underlying factors causing the destructive drinking patterns that exist with some Native Americans. This paper will explore some of the contemporary thoughts on the background and issues involving alcohol and the American Indian. ... Those who are called Native Americans represent people who come from over 500 tribes, many with distinctly different cultures. ... (Caetano, 1998) But even with this fact being acknowledged, many will try to place them into one group, developing theories to account for their alcoholism as though each Native American has the same history, culture, and genetic identity. It is not clear when Indians started using alcohol. Some American Indian tribes, such as those in the American Southwest, have a long history of using intoxicating beverages. ... ” (Waddell, 1980) Whether it is a fact that the use of alcohol by American Indians is aboriginal or a result of contact with non-indigenous people is not at issue here. What we do know is that not all tribes had access to alcohol, and the alcohol that some did have was more akin to beer and wine. ... Beauvais writes: Extreme intoxication was common among the colonists and provided a powerful model for the social use of alcohol among the inexperienced Indian population. ... in Beauvais, 1998) William Unrau cites that White Americans continued their westward invasion, while floundering in a sea of alcohol. ... This was the example set for American Indians to follow. But more was done to Native Americans than just providing a negative drinking model for them to follow. Native Americans were actively encouraged to drink to excess. Thornton writes that fur traders found it in their best interest to promote the use of alcohol with the Indians with whom they were dealing. When furs were brought to them for exchange, it was a practice of the White trader to offer alcohol to the Indians for them to consume before the negotiations began. ... (Unrau, 1994) Alcohol was also being supplied to the Indians by the military. ... With so many people finding it to their advantage to encourage American Indians to drink, it is understandable how the newly arrived European society was able to remove Indians from their traditional patterns of alcohol use, and toward a drinking pattern that would help push them toward destruction. There are many discrepancies and conflicts found when researchers look for a common physiological or psychological factor linked to alcoholism among some Native Americans. For example, a popular explanation is that there is a genetic component shared by all American Indians that predisposes them to alcoholism. ... White America would hope to use this to absolve themselves of any complicity in Native American’s drinking patterns.