Contemporary American Indian Issues in Historical Perspective - Essay Example

Research Paper Contemporary American Indian Issues in Historical Perspective Outline Introduction North American Indians comprise of a number people who share unique cultures, identities, histories and languages. These Native Americans form an important minority of USA, but are frequently faced with a multitude of social, cultural and political problem that are still waiting to be addressed and being solved effectively. Throughout the historical records many American Indians have been repeatedly exposed to self destructive and illegal behavior. Such conducts have been repetitively attributed to the exposure to heavy alcoholic and illicit substance abuse. The existing drinking trend of American Indians can be traced back to a range of chronological economic, cultural, and social aspects, including their experience with Europeans who supplied distilled alcohol and influenced maladaptive drinking manners. These drinking behaviors have placed a huge stake on the American economy which is faced with the increasing criminal activities, spread of deadly epidemics like the HIV, a high mortality rate within the minority community and a disturbing law and order situation. Despite the gravity of the situation and the problem of alcoholism in the American population, a detailed study concentrating on the factors underlining this major issue has not been conducted. The need of the hour thus was to perform a comprehensive literature research that would be an assortment of the popular beliefs and ground reality regarding the historical implications and the actual reasons behind indulging in the alcoholic abuse. Hence, it was particularly significant to critically examine the detailed evidence that best defined the epidemiology of alcohol abuse among the American Indians. Research Objectives The following research would specifically aim at studying the morbidity of alcohol amongst the American despite the various emotional, physical and cultural tolls that have resulted due to alcoholism. The research would aim at analyzing: The historical impact on alcoholic trend within the Native Americans The epidemic issues associated with increasing alcoholic abuse To outline the reasons for adopting such an offensive behavior To analyze the risks associated with the growing rates of substance use To evaluate the developments that have been made in preventing and treating the victimized Methodology The research undertaken involved an extensive review of the published material which includes journal, magazines, almanacs, online databases and web pages evaluating the issue on hand. These sources would be used to extract the expert opinions, to critically analyze the stereotypes associated with alcoholic abuse, to utilize the research material and historical data. The above resources would further help in evaluating the steps taken by the government and the NGO's in addressing the grave situation facing one of the biggest minorities within the country. Moreover the facts and figures obtained during the secondary would be applied in comparison to the data collected from ground sources to effectively investigate the factual information regarding the issue. Primary Sources As stated earlier, in order to design a comprehensive research paper, a fair bit of primary investigation would also be employed. This included filling out of questionnaires by the American Indian patients screened positive in the drug abuse and by a number of young Native Americans prospectively indulged in alcohol intake to access their mental state and to haul out the reasons for engaging in the illicit practice. The survey was aimed at obtaining the information about socio-demographic background, personal and social resources, traumatic experiences, attitudes toward mental sickness, indications, alcohol, drug and mental turmoil, and service exploitation, both biomedical and cultural options. Each questionnaire was administered for about 20 minutes and help of any kind was provided to the respondents. In the meantime interviews were held with a number of psychiatrists and school teachers and a skilled insight of the circumstances that led to the dependence on alcohol was obtained. The data obtained through these sources was fused with the secondary information in designing the final research draft. Conclusion The American Indians face a wider range of problems regarding the alcoholic abuse. These issues have not only hampered their social life but have had a toll on the entire community. Various reasons ranging from cultural, political and historical to social aspects have been highlighted as being fundamental in the development of heavy alcoholic consumption. Consequently the society has responded to the subject by incorporating the prevention and treatment programs at the grass root level. The issue is still grave and its implications are severe on the Native Americans and subsequently on the entire US nation. Alcoholism among Native Americans The high frequency of alcohol usage amongst the American Indians can be accredited to a number of aspects. These factors include the influence of the White colonist who exposed the Native Americans to the large amounts of distilled wine and spirits and also to a number of cultural and political circumstances currently prevailing in the American environment. Extensive use of Alcohol has caused various problems for the American Indian Population. The development of adverse typecasts have burdened the Native public in addition to physical and political crisis. As a result of these stereotypes the Indian residents has been notoriously labeled as being faced with problems of alcoholism despite the fact a respective number of people are leading an abstemious and economically life. The following paper focuses on the historical implications and the existing use of alcohol in the Native American societies, factors that elucidate the reason for the alcohol abuse and consequent issues, dealing and prevention of the epidemic and recommendations regarding the chronic matter. Historical Implications and the consumption of Alcohol The existing use of alcohol by the American Indians can be carved out by a number of historical, traditional, economic and cultural factors. Many authors describe the growth of alcoholism within the Native American society as a three step process. The first phase of the evolution of alcoholic customs involved the use of fermented syrups and weak beers for the purpose of mind-altering and were particularly used in social events, for therapeutic purposes, in the quest of enlightenment and when preparing for a battle. During this period strong cultural boundaries and strict norms held the natives from being deeply engaged in intoxication. In the second stage the natives were exposed to European Colonists but this was initial period of their relationship with the whites and was mostly marked by harmless drinking. The Americans were still oblivious to the distillation of more powerful and illicit forms of alcohol and even at that time were involved in the nave drinking. As time lapsed and more European colonists met the American Indians the third phase began in which Europeans exposed the natives to the more strong and distilled forms of beer. History reveals that Europeans specially traders and soldiers of that time were strongly committed to heavy drinking and they not only instigated the American Natives into high profile intoxication but also strategically utilized during trade visits and meeting to meet their end of economic goals. Alcohol consumption was further promoted by the Europeans by making it a medium of exchange during trade and at times even giving it away as gifts in order to get a distinct advantage in negotiations. Innocent Americans had little time available to morally and socially regulate the heavy intoxication wave that was approaching them. The intense intoxication, which was common to the Europeans, provided a role model for large scale consumption of alcohol to the inexpert Indian population. These events triggered a trend of drinking and despite the religious and cultural constraints the inclination provided by the miners, soldiers and other heavy drinking class of Europeans in the medieval stages, made alcoholism a custom amongst the majority of Indian population. History therefore seems to have impacted the drinking patterns of the indigenous American Indians in the past and it continues to influence the culture and social life of the Indians even today. The encouragement provided and an early demand fabricated by the Europeans set the pace for the custom heavy alcohol consumption that was passed down via generations until today and has thus led to the high intensity of alcohol led problems that looming large over the Indian population. Contemporary Use of Alcohol There 200 million American Indian populations within the Untied States which are further divided into 300 tribes. The tribal groups share different norms and customs and the effect of alcohol abuse on each of them has thus been varied and was difficult to analyze. Despite the level of obscurity relevant figures collected through the Primary and Secondary research would help to reflect the general pattern of consumption and involvement in drugs within the American Indian population. Mental pressure has been one of the greatest causes of engaging in the alcohol abuse and analysts thus differentiate the tribal consumption on the basis of the differences between the levels of tolerance in the diverse groups. Studies revealed that the first time experience of alcohol by an average Indian was at a mere age of around 14.3, while he was able to get access to the drug substances by the age of 12. Moreover a huge percentage of the population received information about alcohol and illicit drugs through their siblings or other family members thus indicating the level of corruption prevailing within the family life that is highly affecting the community at large. A survey of the adult population of Indians revealed that the prevalence of alcohol consumption in Men was more than double the use by women. In the meantime the figures collected amongst were extremely astonishing as they revealed a ratio 28 boys to 1 girl being involved in alcoholic abuse reflecting the intensity of delinquency that is common within the Indian youth.1 While male mortality rates amongst the Indians population were 26.2 % as compared to the women death rate of 13%. Studies have revealed a decline in the consumption of alcohol by the adult population especially amongst people who have been exposed to the city life or have encountered the deterring phase of alcohol led illness. Unfortunately consumption figures amongst the prospective Indian resource, that is the youth, has been exceptionally high and around 71% of the Indians between the ages of 13 to 19 have ever tasted alcohol and 555 of the public has ever been heavily drunk. Rates of Alcohol consumption have been stable in the past 25 years and this offers a moment of worry for the stakeholders as it intensifies the prospects feared communal disaster. The problem of alcohol continues to be grave amongst the adolescents and more than half of the adolescent population actively involved in drinking has also been found guilty of using other illicit drugs, the prevalent substance these is marijuana. A peculiar style of consumption by the name of 'binge drinking' have been identified by the researchers as being popular amongst both the youth and the adults. In which they consume large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. This pattern involves taking five to six drinks in one session.2 Moreover a noteworthy trend of alcohol exchange genetically transferred from the forefathers of the European times has been found to be common this encourages heavy drinking in order to refrain from being discovered of the bottle being impounded. Researchers claim that many young adults get deeply involved into alcohol consumption and continue with the habit into their adulthood while there are others who are only social drinkers and do not go on to develop a life long habit of drinking. Consequences of Alcoholism As compared to the local American, the native Indians are at high risk of Alcohol related deaths. Nearly twice as many American Indians die of alcohol related deaths between the age of 45 and 64. Health consequences attached with the alcohol abuse are very grave and chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatitis are more than 4 times more prevalent in the Indian population as compared to the general American national. Alcohol related suicide and homicide are also widespread amongst the Natives as compared to the rest of the US population. Situation is awfully critical in the case of fatal automobile accidents and injuries that occur due to drunk driving. Injuries account for 75% of the deaths occurring within the American Indian populations in which a greater proportion is due to the motor vehicle accidents followed by incidents of violence and gang fights, which are other grand evils of alcohol abuse. Another alcohol related disease popular amongst the US population and especially amongst the Indians is the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) due to high alcohol consumption amongst women. Mental Disorders have been identified as one of the increasing problem experienced in the young American population and particularly amongst the Indians. Psychological turmoil has also been associated to high alcohol drinking and contributing towards alcohol led problems within the country. Indians are particularly faced with a number of emotional and cultural problems that leads them to depression, anxiety, lack of self efficacy and self esteem. Such symptoms are relieved by the use of alcohol. These psychological problems are high amongst the adults and adolescents have not yet reached this stage of psychological development. Yet studies have revealed that half the youths screened positive for psychological disorders have also been diagnosed for alcoholic disorder. Such alcohol users are normally termed as the anxiety drinkers who consume alcohol for the altering their mental state. Reasons for Alcoholic abuse Apart from the historical implications outlining the drug abuse by the Indians the research assisted in highlighting a number of other causes. A number of factors including the genetic, social, cultural and family have impacted on the prevailing drug abuse within the community. Genetic Factors Many studies have been carried out in this regard researches for the past three decades have identified the effect of genetic factors associated with the high use of alcohol. In this regard a certain other ethnic groups have been closely studied and it has been found that alcohol consumption has been low within the Asian populations in particular as their bodies tend to contain certain enzymes that give a flushing effect when alcohol is consumed. This flushing effect has been attributed to the redness of skin and nausea thus resulting in a lower consumption of alcohol among these populations. As compared to this the American Indian populations being genetically drowned in the drinking of alcohol find an attraction towards heavy drinking and a drive and inner conformity towards the blood red glass of wine. Thus genetic counseling and development of certain drugs to alter the genetic pattern amongst these populations is required to bring about a change. There are certain other certain social and culture factors that have been associated with the increasing risk of alcoholism within the Indian populations. Socioeconomic Factors The American Indian populations are highly susceptible to these influences as the economic conditions of most of the tribes are miserable. Basic necessities are unfulfilled, high rates of unemployment, no schooling for the children and several other social factors result in a compromise on the personal requirements of the Indian children, this leads to distress and disappointment which is then made up for through alcoholic consumption. Government needs to pay attention to this very important factor instead of running after Muslims for the race of oil; US could be better off addressing the necessities of its neglected populations. Children brought up at boarding school As a part of discriminatory activities Indians were forcibly removed from their houses and were sent to boarding schools which were hundreds of miles away from their homes. Children were deprived of the primary comfort of family life and were treated severely and faced with behaviors primarily shaped through punishment. Emotional and physically abuse at such a small age badly distorted the mental state of the child who either went on to become a homicide or took up drinking in order the extinguish the fire of injustice within him/her. The practice was undertaken to eliminate the aspects of Indian culture from children and to mould them in the 'White Manner', the practice though failed and resulted in the total loss of values and norms from children. Loss of Culture As a result of the survey many Indians believed that because they were not allowed to retain their culture and they were deprived of their reminiscent norms and values was one of the major causes of their social problems including alcohol. A relationship is claimed to be existing between cultural identification and social distress an idea popularly rejected by researchers. Cultural impact Many analysts believe that apart from European intervention the intensity of alcohol abuse may also be ascribed to the Indian culture as beer always existed in their culture even if in the dilute form and as it is an inherited trait. The implication of the pre-historic culture may not be rejected. Child abuse The increasing alcohol consumption within the youths has also been attributed to their own parents. As the couples in the early stages of their marriage are extremely engrossed in drinking and visiting Indian bars they ignore the welfare of the child and leave them to the care of grandmothers. This makes the child feel unimportant and unworthy, denies him of self confidence and self-efficacy and makes him follow the footsteps of his parents in order to attain satisfaction. Prevention and Diagnosis of Alcohol abuse It is extremely important to understand the factors that underline the high rate of problems related to alcoholism in order to design the diagnosis techniques. In the last few decades impediment of alcohol abuse has been the priority of many American Indian populations who view it as a plague destroying their human resource. In this regard a number of organizations like IHS and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and several other organizations have been involved in providing diagnosis and prevention against the diseases caused by alcohol abuse. Meanwhile a number of prevention and educational programs have been designed by the federal government including the campaign for Fetal Alcoholic Spectrum Disorder have been conducted to inform the Indian public of the hazards associated with drinking. Moreover counseling to the victimized youth and treatments to the adolescents and adults are also being provided in the event of controlling the drug abuse amongst the Native Americans. All this is still not enough and a greater unified effort is required in order to completely remove this plague out of the Indian community and effectively utilize the human resource for the betterment of the country at large. Conclusion The 1960's civil rights movement kept the base for the revitalization of the Indian culture since then the impact has been reduced, the need of the hour thus is for the Federal Government to play a greater role in rectifying the mistakes of the past and actively address the increasingly hazardous issue of alcoholic amongst the Indians in particular and within the country at large. A powerful change can only be materialized if Indian culture and norms are revisited. Work is being done in this regard and it can only be hoped that the situation would be much better for the Indians and they would be culturally, socially, psychologically and physically relieved in the years to come. Bibliography 1. Lobb, L. Michael; Watts D. Thomas. Native American Youth and Alcohol. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989. 2. Lamerine, Roland. "PILOT STUDY OF SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND SUBSTANCE USE PATTERNS AMONG SELECTED AMERICAN INDIAN HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS." Journal of American Indian Education 33(1993): 3. 3. PARKS, CHERYL A.,MICHIE N. HESSELBROCK,VICTOR M. HESSELBROCK,andBERNARD SEGAL."Gender and Reported Health Problems in Treated Alcohol Dependent Alaska Natives (*).(Statistical Data Included)."Journal of Studies on Alcohol62.3(May 2001) 4. Johnson, Sandy. "Cultural Practises in American Indian Prevention Programs." Juvenile Justice Journal VII: 2 (2000). 5. Beauvais, Fred. "American Indians and Alcohol." 253. 1998. 21 Jul 2007 . 6. May, Philip A. "The Epidemiology of Alcohol Abuse Among American Indians ." the IHS Primary Care Provider 20:2March 1995 37-56. 21st July 2007 . Read More