Many Native Americans in the United States have been harmed by, or become addicted to, drinking alcohol.[1] Among contemporary Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 11.7% of all deaths are related to alcohol.[2][3] By comparison, about 5.9% of global deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption.[4] Because of negative stereotypes and biases based on race and social class, generalizations and myths abound around the topic of Native American alcohol misuse.[5]
A survey of death certificates from 2006 to 2010 showed that deaths among Native Americans due to alcohol are about four times as common as in the general U.S. population. They are often due to traffic collisions and liver disease, with homicide, suicide, and falls also contributing.[6] Deaths related to alcohol among Native Americans are more common in men and among Northern Plains Indians.[7][8][9] Alaska Natives showed the lowest incidence of alcohol-related death.[10][11] Alcohol misuse amongst Native Americans has been shown to be associated with development of disease, including hearing and vision problems, kidney and bladder problems, head injuries, pneumonia, tuberculosis, dental problems, liver problems, and pancreatitis.[12] In some tribes, the rate of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is as high as 1.5 to 2.5 per 1,000 live births, more than seven times the national average,[13] while among Alaska Natives, the rate of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is 5.6 per 1,000 live births.[14]
Native American and Native Alaskan youth are far more likely to experiment with alcohol at a younger age than non-Native youth.[15] Low self-esteem and transgenerational trauma have been associated with substance use disorders among Native American teens in the U.S. and Canada.[16][17] Alcohol education and prevention programs have focused on raising self-esteem, emphasizing traditional values, and recruiting Native youth to advocate for abstinence and healthy substitution.[18]
Historically, those Native American tribes who manufactured alcoholic drinks used them and other mind-altering substances in ritual settings and rarely for personal enjoyment. Liquor was unknown until introduced by Europeans, therefore alcohol dependence was largely unknown when European contact was made.[19] The use of alcohol as a trade item and the practice of intoxication for fun, or to alleviate stress, gradually undermined traditional Native American culture until by the late 18th century, alcoholism was recognized as a serious problem in many Native American communities.[20] Native American leaders campaigned with limited success to educate Native Americans about the dangers of drinking and intoxication.[21] Legislation prohibiting the sale of alcohol to Native Americans generally failed to prevent alcohol-related social and health problems, and discriminatory legislation was abandoned in the 1950s in favor of laws passed in Native American communities by Native Americans.[22] Modern treatment focuses on culturally appropriate strategies that emphasize traditional activities designed to promote spiritual harmony and group solidarity.[23]
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- ^ Szlemko, William J.; Wood, James W.; Thurman, Pamela Jumper (October 2006). "Native Americans and alcohol: past, present, and future". Journal of General Psychology. 133 (4). Heldref Publications: 435–51. doi:10.3200/GENP.133.4.435-451. PMID 17128961. S2CID 43082343.
- ^ Landen, Michael; Roeber, Jim; Naimi, Tim; Nielsen, Larry; Sewell, Mack (2014). "Alcohol-attributable mortality among Native Americans and Alaska Natives in the United States, 1999-2009". American Journal of Public Health. 104 (Suppl 3): S343-9. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301648. PMC 4035890. PMID 24754661.
- ^ "1 in 10 Native American deaths alcohol related". MSNBC. August 28, 2008. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- ^ "World Health Organization: Global status report on alcohol and health, 2014" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 27, 2020.
- ^ Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne; Gilio-Whitaker, Dina (2016). "All the Real Indians Died Off": And 20 Other Myths about Native Americans. Beacon Press: Boston, 2016. ISBN 978-0-8070-6265-4.
- ^ Gonzales, Katherine; Roeber, Jim; Kanny, Dafna; Tran, Annie; Saiki, Cathy; Johnson, Hal; Yeoman, Kristin; Safranek, Tom; Creppage, Kathleen; Lepp, Alicia; Miller, Tracy; Tarkhashvili, Nato; Lynch, Kristine E.; Watson, Joanna R.; Henderson, Danielle; Christenson, Megan; Geiger, Sarah Dee (2014). "Alcohol-attributable deaths and years of potential life lost--11 States, 2006-2010". MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 63 (10): 213–6. PMC 5779340. PMID 24622285.
- ^ Beals, Janette; Novins, Douglas K.; Whitesell, Nancy R.; Spicer, Paul; Mitchell, Christina M.; Manson, Spero M. (September 2005). "Prevalence of mental disorders and utilization of mental health services in two American Indian reservation populations: mental health disparities in a national context". American Journal of Psychiatry. 162 (9): 1723–32. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.162.9.1723. PMID 16135633.
- ^ Beals, Janette; Manson, Spero M.; Whitesell, Nancy R.; Spicer, Paul; Novins, Douglas K.; Mitchell, Christina M. (January 2005). "Prevalence of DSM-IV disorders and attendant help-seeking in 2 American Indian reservation populations". Archives of General Psychiatry. 62 (1): 99–108. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.1.99. PMID 15630077. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ Spicer, Paul; Beals, Janette; Croy, Calvin D.; Mitchell, Christina M.; Novins, Douglas K.; Moore, Laurie; Manson, Spero M. (2003). "The Prevalence of DSM-III-R Alcohol Dependence in Two American Indian Populations". Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. 27 (11): 1785–1797. doi:10.1097/01.ALC.0000095864.45755.53. PMID 14634495.
- ^ Berman, M; Hull, T; May, P (2000). "Alcohol control and injury death in Alaska native communities: wet, damp and dry under Alaska's local option law". Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 61 (2): 311–9. doi:10.15288/jsa.2000.61.311. hdl:11122/14528. PMID 10757142.
- ^ "Study: 12 percent of Indian deaths due to alcohol" Archived 2010-12-24 at the Wayback Machine Associated Press article by Mary Clare Jalonick Washington, D.C. (AP) 9-08 News From Indian Country accessed October 7, 2009
- ^ "Native Americans with alcohol problems have more medical conditions" Archived 2009-11-14 at the Wayback Machine Jay Shore, M.D., M.P.H., University of Colorado Health Sciences Center March 26, 2006, accessed October 7, 2009
- ^ Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) (2003). "Fetal alcohol syndrome–Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, and New York, 1995-1997". Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 51 (20): 433–5. PMID 12056499. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ "Health problems in American Indian/Alaska Native women". National Women's Health & Information. Archived from the original on February 11, 2006.
- ^ Beauvais F (1998). "Cultural identification and substance use in North America--an annotated bibliography". Subst Use Misuse. 33 (6): 1315–36. doi:10.3109/10826089809062219. PMID 9603273.
- ^ Myhra LL (2011). ""It runs in the family": intergenerational transmission of historical trauma among urban American Indians and Alaska Natives in culturally specific sobriety maintenance programs". American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research. 18 (2): 17–40. doi:10.5820/aian.1802.2011.17. PMID 22302280.
- ^ Bombay, Amy; Matheson, Kim; Anisman, Hymie (2009). "Intergenerational trauma: convergence of multiple processes among First Nations peoples in Canada". Journal of Aboriginal Health. 5 (3): 6–47. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
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