Culture Topics

     We all know that alcoholism is a recurring problem on Native American reservations. Indigenous people were first introduced to alcohol by the Europeans, then they had their land stolen, their population was decimated and as a result they ended up losing a big part of their culture. This led to Indigenous people drinking alcohol as a coping mechanism for their generational trauma. As alcohol addiction started to rise on Native American reservations, they used a spiritual medicine to heal from their addiction, called peyote, also a hallucinogen. The active ingredient in peyote is called mescaline, but how do Native Americans use it to treat their alcoholism? Many Native Americans use this plant in traditional meetings to help treat their addiction to alcohol. In these religious ceremonies, peyote is not viewed as a drug but is viewed as medicine for healing. Although it was mostly used for healing purposes, some started to experience negative effects. Others also star...