Kelsey Staub English 309 Fall 2011 White Paper

Alcoholism: An Epidemic in Native American Communities

Alcohol abuse is a problem that affects people of just about every race, culture, age, and socio-economic status around the world. However, this problem has become increasingly predominant in Native American communities. Numerous statistics have shown that Native American people have the highest rates of alcohol use of any ethic group in the United States, which in turn has led to higher rates of fetal alcohol syndrome, domestic violence, and alcoholrelated deaths. These issues are not only detrimental to the overall well-being of the Native American people, but they should also be of great concern to the general American population. Native Americans have a long legacy that began long before this nation came to be. Despite the countless injustices that they have faced, their persevering strength has played a crucial role in the history of the United States, and their rich heritage has been a cornerstone in the shaping of American culture. By choosing to turn a blind eye to the problems at hand, the American people are inadvertently choosing to aid in the demise of their countrys oldest and most historic group of people. The purpose of this paper is to identify what factors contribute to the epidemic of alcohol abuse in the Native American community and determine what approach would be the most successful in addressing and treating this prominent issue. It is hoped that the information from research gathered in this paper will help in gaining a better understanding as to why Native Americans are more inclined to abuse alcohol, as well as to raise awareness of this pressing issue.

Understanding Alcoholism
In order to understand the overall topic of this paper, one must first understand what alcoholism truly means. Alcoholism is defined by the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary as: A chronic progressive potentially fatal psychological and nutritional disorder associated with excessive and usually compulsive drinking of ethanol and characterized by frequent intoxication leading to dependence on or addiction to the substance, impairment of the ability to work and socialize, destructive

behaviors (as drunken driving), tissue damage (as cirrhosis of the liver), and severe withdrawal symptoms upon detoxification;(Merriam-Webster) In simple terms, alcoholism is an addiction to alcohol. Like any other addiction, alcoholism is something that is not easily overcome. While the average person can generally moderate their consumption, an alcoholic does not have the ability to simply quit drinking, as to them it is necessary for their daily functioning.

Prevalence in Native American communities

Studies of alcohol consumption patterns have continually shown a higher rate of use in Native American people than in any other ethnic group in the United States. In a study done by the Center for the Advancement of Health in 2003, it was found that [a]cross all tribes, 30 percent of the men and 18 percent of the women were diagnosed with some form of alcohol dependence. In one tribe, the percentage was a staggering 56 percent for men (Center for the Advancement of Health, 2005). In a similar article published by the Treatment Solutions Network about the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, author Bethany Winkel found that four out of every five families in this county have an alcoholic member [and] life expectancy is the second lowest in the whole Northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, studies have consistently shown that Native American adolescents have a higher lifetime prevalence of alcohol use than do non-Native adolescents (Szlemko et al. 437). With such high rates of alcohol abuse come a series of adverse consequences. In addition to having the highest rates of alcohol use, Native Americans also have the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths: 12 percent of Native American deaths, compared to 3% for the entire United States. The most common causes of Native American alcohol-related deaths were traffic accidents and alcoholic liver disease (Associated Press, 2008). Although not directly linked to alcohol abuse, Native American women are greatly as risk of domestic violence. According to the National Organization for Women, Native American women experience the highest rates of violence of any other group in the United States (2011).

The Goal of the Present Study

The purpose of my research is to answer the question, why? Why do Native Americans have the highest rates of alcohol abuse among any ethnic group?

Methods

In order to gather information on this topic, I compiled the research from several scholarly journals that I found using the academic journal search engine, EBSCOhost, through the University of Idahos library website. I searched the term Native American alcoholism, and narrowed my results down to three articles: Native Americans and Alcohol: Past, Present, and Future by William J. Szlemko, James W. Wood, and Pamela Jumper Thurman; American Indian Culture as Substance Abuse Treatment: Pursing Evidence for a Local Intervention by Joseph P. Gone and Patrick E. Calf Looking; and Design for a Behavioral Health Program for Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Youths: A Community Informed Approach by Daniel L. Dickerson and Carrie L. Johnson. The first article focuses on the prevalence of alcoholism in Native American communities and the risk factors that contribute to that, while the other two articles focus more on the treatment aspect of the problem. In addition to the three scholarly journals, I also used the search engine Google, and using the same search phrase I was able to find two additional articles that were relevant to my research. The first was an article by the Center for the Advancement of Health titled, Childhood Abuse Linked to Alcoholism: Abused Native Americans Twice as Likely to Drink. This article discussed research that was done about the prevalence of alcoholism and how it could be linked back to child abuse and trauma. The second article, Cultural Healing: Native American Activists Say Boarding School Abuses Harmed the Health of Generations by Suzy Subways. Along the lines of the first one, this article also outlined the historical traumas that are linked to alcohol abuse. Last, I conducted an interview with Dr. Janis Johnson of the University of Idaho. Dr. Johnson is a professor for the Department of English who teaches several American Indian studies courses, including English 484: American Indian Literature and English 504: Historical Trauma and Healing in Native Literatures and Communities. I chose to interview Dr. Johnson because I became interested in this topic of Native American alcoholism after learning about it in her American Indian Literature class this semester. My purpose of interviewing her was to correlate and validate the information I had researched with her knowledge on the subject, as well as to better understand the topic that I was researching. My ultimate question for her was: Do you believe that historical traumas are the primary source for the alcohol abuse problem with Native Americans?

Results
In compiling the results of my research, it was just about unanimously agreed upon that historical traumas are the primary cause for Native American alcohol abuse. Primarily, government-sponsored boarding schools were pinpointed as the most prominent source of trauma that has led to alcoholism among Native Americans in recent times. These boarding schools, designed by the United States government and run by Christian and Catholic

churches, were an attempt to civilize Native Americans. In order to do so, children were stripped away from their families and suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of their educators (Johnson, 2011). According to research done by the Center for the Advancement of Health, Men were almost twice as likely to abuse alcohol if they had experienced a combination of physical and sexual abuse as children. Women were almost twice as likely to have alcohol problems if they had been sexually abused and attended boarding school (2005). Boarding school survivor and Lakota Tribe member, Tim Giago, stated in his article for the Huffington Post, Many of the problems of alcoholism and drug abuse now prevalent in Indian Country can be traced back to the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse suffered at the hands of the BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs] and mission boarding schools (qtd in Subways). Likewise, researchers mentioned in the article Native Americans and Alcohol: Past, Present, and Future also agreed that cumulative historical trauma may be one of the primary causes of alcoholism and that it needs to be studied further (Szlemko et al. 441). Dr. Johnson shared a similar opinion, stating that alcohol has served as a coping mechanism for many Native Americans as a way of masking the pain inflicted at the hands of the United States government. She believes that Native American people would not be in the position that they are if the United States government held on to their side of the treaties, instead of causing more harm with their unjust policies and actions. In addition to government-sponsored boarding schools, my research indicated several other traumas that can be considered leading factors in the overall problem of alcoholism in Native American communities. Poverty, gender, family history of alcohol abuse, and peer attitudes towards alcohol are all risk factors that often play a large role in alcoholic tendencies, and Native Americans tend to have higher rates of alcohol use largely because, as a population, they are exposed to more risk factors than are other ethnic groups (Szlemko et al. 442). As Dr. Johnson noted, there are many Native Americans living on reservations that are forced to live in terrible poverty, and this poverty can often be a leading factor in a persons tendency to abuse alcohol.

Discussion
It has become evident that historical traumas and abuse are primary sources for the alcohol problem among Native Americans, but one might wonder how these traumas relate to the current matter of alcohol abuse. According to researchers, [s]ome Native American people refer to this trauma as the soul wound, a profoundly spiritual trauma that has been visited upon

them (Duran & Duran, 1995 qtd in Szlemko et al. 439). As it was stated above, alcohol has become a coping mechanism for many Native Americans as a way of numbing the pain of their soul wound. Just as researchers on this topic agree that historical trauma and abuse is to blame for this problem, they also unanimously agree that this is an issue that will not be resolved until the Native Americans that have been affected are able to heal from their wounds. There are several approaches that could be taken in order to treat Native Americans with alcohol addictions, but the most popular and effective approach is through culturally-relevant treatment programs. Unlike other methods like Alcoholics Anonymous or rehabilitation clinics, culturally relevant treatment programs use Native American customs and traditions as the basis for their recovery. More than just eliminating the addition to alcohol, this style of treatment allows Native Americans to gain back their sense of identity and their connection to their heritage, which is something that the United States government has tried to strip them of over time. In the interview, Dr. Johnson directed me to a website for the White Bison Center for the Wellbriety Movement, which is a website dedicated towards a Native American culture-based movement for sobriety. This movement teaches that culture is prevention of chemical dependency and other dysfunctional behaviors. It utilizes the Daughters of Tradition prevention program to help girls avoid negative behaviors before they start. Likewise, it utilizes the Sons of Tradition Program for boys and young men to bring preventative attitudes and behaviors to young Native Americans (White Bison Center for the Wellbriety Movement). Overall, it is important that awareness be brought to this issue so that the healing process can take place. For non-Native Americans, the best way to assist in the healing process is not to come to the reservations and try to save the day, but rather to be supportive in allowing the Native American people to get back in touch with their roots and work towards decolonization (Johnson). It is only then that the healing can begin.

Works Cited Associated Press. 1 in 10 Native American deaths alcohol related. MSNBC 8 Aug. 2008: n. pag. msnbc.msn.com. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. Center for the Advancement of Health. Childhood Abuse Linked to Alcoholism: Abused Native Americans Twice As Likely to Drink. About.com. N.p., 2 Oct. 2005. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. Dickerson, Daniel L., and Carrie L. Johnson. Design of a Behavioral Health Program for Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Youths: A Community Informed Approach. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 43.4 (2011): 337-342. PDF file. Gone, Joseph P., and Patrick E. Calf Looking. American Indian Culture as Substance Abuse Treatment: Pursuing Evidence for a Local Intervention. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 43.4 (2011): 291-296. PDF file. Johnson, Janis. Personal interview. 14 Dec. 2011. National Organization for Women. Native American Women and Violence. National NOW Times. National Organization for Women, Spring 2011. Web. 9 Dec. 2011. Subways, Suzy. Cultural Healing: Native American Activists Say Boarding School Abuses Harmed the Health of Generations. CHAMP Network. CHAMP: Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. <http://www.champnetwork.org/solidarity_project/2008/12/en/ cultural-healing-native-american-activists-say-boarding-school-abuses->. Szlemko, William J., et al. Native Americans and Alcohol: Past, Present, and Future. The Journal of Psychology 133.4 (2006): 435-451. PDF file.

White Bison Center for the Wellbriety Movement. The Story of the Wellbriety Movement. White Bison. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. Winkel, Bethany. Alcohol Abuse among Native Americans. Treatment Solutions Network. treatmentsolutionsnetwork.com, 17 Dec. 2010. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.