How Colonization Affected Alcoholism on Native American Reservations
For years, Native Americans have been stereotyped as “drunks.” But where did the stereotype originate? Before colonization, Native Americans were living their own way of life, but then they came in contact with European colonists. To build a friendship and an alliance with the natives, the colonists traded various items with them. One of those items is “firewater”, otherwise known as alcohol. The term “firewater” comes from two sources. The first source is the addition of tobacco, hot pepper, or opium to alcohol. The other source comes from a more literal sense, throwing the alcohol into the fire to see if it was flammable and acceptable to purchase. (Abbott) The natives quickly became familiar with alcohol; most tribes soon valued it as an item to trade with/for. I will also be discussing how alcohol affected the Native American community after it was introduced by the European settlers. Alcohol had many devastating effects on the community, and they eventually used it as a coping mec...