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 mechanism for trauma. Then came the stereotype and myth that natives are unable to tolerate alcohol.

The trauma that the Native American community has been through is catastrophic. First, the natives were infected with diseases like: measles, smallpox, influenza, pneumonia, and the common cold. About 95% of the indigenous population were killed from the illnesses, and so the indigenous community was left with a small percentage of their people. (Ehrenpreis) Then they were forced off their homelands, because the government wanted to use the land for expansion. This was caused by the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forced indigenous people east of Mississippi off their lands to rural areas.(“Indigenous People”) The act created situations like the “Long Walk”, the long walk is when the U.S government marched 10,000 of the Dine people 250-450 miles. Approximately 200 people died from illness, starvation, or exposure to the environment.(The Long walk) In order to assimilate the Native American people, the white colonizers forced native kids to attend boarding school. At these schools they would forbid the children to speak their language, separated them from their families, and were emotionally and physically abused. More than 500 deaths were reported to have happened at these schools and the number is still ongoing to this day.(Waxman) These traumatic events made the indigenous community suffer terrible losses such as losing their homes, families, their culture and their identity. Due to these losses, Native Americans have found unhealthy ways to cope, like drinking.

This addiction has also affected the Pine Ridge Reservation, where 20,000 of Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe members live. Approximately two-thirds of the adults that live there are alcoholics, and about one in four babies were born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Beauvais reported in “American Indians and Alcohol”, about 26.5% of men's and 13.2% of women's deaths were alcohol-related. (Beauvais) In another study that compared drinking behaviors in Native American and White youth. The results showed that Native American youth consumed more alcohol by 23.3% than their White peers.(Friese & Grube) These are just a few of the effects of alcohol that have impacted the Native American communities. Olowan Martinez, a person who was interviewed by the Guardian, said that she had started drinking at the age of fourteen. She quit twelve years later due to her mother's death of chronic liver damage. She later stated that “the town killed her. But it wasn't just alcohol. It was the historical trauma that happened to our (native) nations, too.”(Laughland & Silverstone) Due to the generational trauma that the native community has endured, they turned to alcohol to try to recover from it. As the community tried to recover from this trauma, they ended up feeding into the stereotype of being a “drunk Indian.”

 

 A few of the residents in Pine Ridge, UT

The trauma and the coping mechanisms that natives possess can have underlying effects on their communities, like their economic status and violence. In “Alcohol Problems in Alaskan Natives: Lessons from the Inuit”, the Aleut Northern Eskimo(Inupiat) community said that alcohol was first introduced to them by traders, and once the traders got the community intoxicated, they took advantage of them. The traders would take advantage of the women sexually, and they would economically take advantage of the men while trading with them. It was also noted that the intoxicated men would become violent with their wives. One of the older women had vocalized that once the men had alcohol, they “stayed drunk.” When spring came around the men didn't want to stock for the winter, then the community was struck with diseases like tuberculosis and influenza that came from the traders. (Seale, et al.) A study that was conducted in 2001 surveyed Alaskan Indians, it showed that alcoholism was either caused by or has caused the following problems: family violence, suicide, loss of children, economic stability, sexual abuse, loss of culture, child abuse/neglect, and murder. (Seale, et al) These alcohol-related problems created a loss of culture and basic needs on the reservation, which has produced poverty and difficulty accessing healthcare. These defeats haven't helped the Native American community overcome the alcohol-related effects and in turn, have created more generational trauma.

About 5.6 million Native Americans are living in America, and about 7.1% of Native Americans have an alcohol problem. (Kaliszewski) Which is about 397,600 people, that is nearly 5.4 times bigger than a Super Bowl stadium! Additionally, close to 10% of Native American youth have also developed a problem with alcohol, which is about 5,950 people. That is about as much as a cruise ship can hold. As of September 12, 2023, 25% of indigenous people have reported binge drinking in the past month(only reported). (Kaliszewiski) In “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Among Native Americans”, Kaliszewski also reported that Native Americans are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol by 28.5% more than any other ethnic group in the past year. Alcohol-related deaths in Native Americans are four times more likely than the rest of the population in America. They are also three times more likely to have an alcohol-related illness, such as chronic liver disease, high blood pressure, heart disease, and dementia. (Matamonasa-Bennett)

One of the many problems that can come from alcohol is abuse. The different types of abuse could be drug, physical, domestic, or sexual. In North America, Native Americans have had higher rates of drug abuse compared to any other ethnic group. In “Alcohol and Drug Abuse among Native Americans'', Kaliszewiski expressed that fourteen percent of Native Americans either have a substance or an illicit drug disorder. It was also reported that Native Americans have the highest methamphetamine addiction, almost three times more than other ethnic groups. (Kaliszewski) Another problem that can be caused by alcoholism is physical and sexual abuse, which has been a recurring problem on the reservations. More than 1.5 million Native American women have experienced physical abuse in their lifetime, and about 83% of native men and women have encountered violence. (PSAs Highlight Domestic Violence Awareness Among Native Americans) In “Sexual Assult on Native American Reservation in the US”, Begay and Zandamela state that Native American women are more likely to be victims of sexual assault, specifically one in three native women have reported being sexually assaulted. That is roughly two and a half more times than other races. It is also very difficult for them to get the help they need with very little access to resources. Although the Indian Health Services(IHS) are provided, it is severely underfunded. In America, Native Americans are more likely to experience physical abuse or have a substance abuse problem, and alcoholism on the reservation isn’t helping prevent these problems, it is making them worse.

The phrase “generational trauma” has been thrown around a lot, but what exactly is it? Chapple has defined it most accurately in “What is Generational trauma? Signs, Causes, and How to Heal”, “Generational trauma is the harmful effects of historical mistreatment or abuse.” Many things can cause generational trauma, such as oppression, cultural dislocation, and intergenerational poverty. (Chapple) Much like how the Native Americans have been colonized, taken from their homeland, forced to abandon their culture, and had their lands controlled by the government for decades. Different types of trauma can have many different effects and coping mechanisms. (Johnson) One of the coping mechanisms that Native Americans chose was drinking. This is why the stereotype of Native Americans being “drunks” has got to stop. Stereotyping can lead to dramatic assumptions and portray us as weak, and dysfunctional. These types of stereotypes can change how Native Americans see themselves and how others perceive them. Although the statistics show that Native Americans have a worse relationship with alcohol than other ethnic groups, it is their way of coping with generational trauma. However, the statistics show that the stereotype isn't completely untrue, alcoholism still is an increasing concern on the reservation and natives need to find another way to cope.

Once firewater had been introduced to the natives by the colonizers, they quickly used it as a valuable source to use and trade with. But as the Colonizers started to take their land, their people, and their culture, the Native Americans started to use alcohol as a coping mechanism to heal from generational trauma. Across the modern American reservations, alcoholism has been a rising concern for the Native American people. Alcohol has affected the community by worsening the “drunk” stereotype, and increasing alcohol related problems, such as abuse, addictions and lives lost. The “drunk Indian” stereotype can change how natives perceive themselves, and how others view them as a community. Alcohol has eventually created the subsequent downfall of the Native American people. However, people have been trying to find healthier ways to deal with generational trauma and break the stereotype.

A video displaying how Pine Ridge residents are fighting addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoKF8H1l7NU

Another video showing how alcohol has impacted Native Americans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvM0rKpRi8g




Reference Page:

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