The Issue of American Indians Alcoholism - Essay Example

?American Indians Alcoholism Introduction Also known as Native Americans, American Indians are members of any of the aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere; however, the term often connote only those groups whose original territories were in present-day Canada and United States (Encyclop?dia Britannica). The United States Census Bureau defines American Indian as “a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This category includes people who indicated their race(s) as “American Indian or Alaska Native” or reported their enrolled or prin­cipal tribe, such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup’ik, or Central American Indian groups or South American Indian groups” (Humes, Jones and Ramirez 3). This ethnic group makes up 0.9% of the United States population (Humes, Jones and Ramirez 4). Alcoholism, defined as the excessive and repetitive drinking of alcoholic beverages despite physical, mental, social, or economic harm (Encyclop?dia Britannica), is reported to be prevalent among the American Indians (Welty 49). These reports have led to the stereotyping of this ethnic group as alcoholics. For instance, figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did show that some members of this ethnic group abuse alcohol beverages to the detriment of their health (Jalonick). Be that as it may, results from epidemiological studies indicated that some American Indians are less likely to use alcohol than are members of other ethnic groups in the United States (Beals, Spicer and Mitchell 1683; Spicer and Beauvais). Thus one may wonder why the American Indians should be stereotyped as alcoholics. This research seeks to investigate the use of alcoholic beverages among this ethnic group. Findings from this research will help in resolving the issue of stereotyping. Alcoholism among American Indians The American Indians have been stereotypes as “drunks”. This stereotype has labeled all American Indians as a group afflicted with alcohol problems. Scientific investigations have also compounded the problem with the vast amount of published reports that focused only on the American Indian population that abuse alcohol while, either by design or default, neglect the large number of American Indians that maintain sober lives. Another shortcoming of these scientific reports is that these investigations are carried out on American Indians groups that account for less than one-third of the American Indian population i.e. those Indians that live on reservations and/or on traditional Indian lands. Historically, the American Indians acquired the abuse of alcohol from the colonist (Beauvais 253). Indeed, prior to the European conquest of North America, the Indians were “relatively naive” to the use of alcohol. Though some Indian tribes were known to have been producing fermented beverages, production of strong alcoholic drinks and high consumption of alcoholic drinks were unknown among the Indians. Contacts with the European trader led to the use and abuse of alcohol among the Indians, who has no guidelines on alcohol use. In addition, alcoholism was also prevalent among the colonizing traders thus the seed of alcoholism was sown among the American Indians by the colonizers. While alcoholism may, generally, be high among the American Indians, drinking habit varies significantly among tribes due to economic, cultural and ethical differences (Levy and Kunitz 97). For instance, a studies that use the number of patients that were discharged with an alcohol-related diagnosis from Indian Health Service indicated that northern Indian reservations has higher rates of diagnosis than southern reservations. The Alcohol use was also dependent on gender as the alcohol-related diagnosis was two-fold higher in men than in women (Hisnanick 32). Furthermore, some Indian youth and adults have been reported to consume large amount of alcohol over a short period of time and this group constitute the largest abusers of alcohol among Indian alcohol abusers (May 235). One of the reasons for the stereotyping of the American Indians is their alcohol-related health issues and auto crashes. For instance, reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that 11.7 percent of deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives between 2001 and 2005 were alcohol-related, compared with 3.3 percent for the U.S. as a whole (Jalonick). Furthermore, chronic liver diseases such as liver cirrhosis are 3.9 time as high in American Indian population as in the American population. Furthermore, figures also shows that alcohol-related fatal automobile accidents are 3 times as prevalent in the American Indian population as in the general population. Alcohol-related suicide and homicide have been reported to be 1.4 and 2.4 as high as in the general population, respectively (Beauvais 253). Furthermore, some Indian tribes are noted for the high rates of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Indeed, a FAS rate that ranges from 1.6-10.3 births per 1000 was observed for some tribes compare to the 2.2 births per 1,000 among the general population (May, Fetal alcohol effects among North American Indians: Evidence and implications for society. 239). While these figures clearly shows that the health implications of alcohol use is indeed greater on the American Indian population than on the non-Indian population, it did not demonstrate that Indian populations are engaged in repetitive consumption of alcohols. The higher levels of health problems may be point to the fact that those Indians who use alcohol consume excessively high amounts. Indeed, it has been reported recently that American Indians in some community are less likely to use alcohol than are other populations in the United States and that American Indian drinkers, however, consume more alcohol per drinking occasion than other populations (Beals, Spicer and Mitchell 1683; Spicer and Beauvais). While the alcoholic American Indians may be victims of European colonization, the health implication is apparent should be responsible enough to stop. Unfortunately many American Indian continue to indulge in alcoholism. A number of factors may be responsible for the continuous indulgence of the American Indians in alcoholism. First, are the high unemployment rates and the high school dropout rate among the American Indians populations. These conditions are enough to place a highly susceptible and marginalized ethnic group under social stress, which can make them predispose to alcoholism. Second, is the cultural collapse among the American Indians. Many Indian associated the loss of their culture with the social problems their ethnic group is currently experiencing. Thus many community-based alcohol treatment programs in Indian community have incorporated cultural or spiritual elements in order to re-introduce lost traditional values. Another cause of the alcoholism found among the American Indians is the physical and emotional abuse experienced by members of this ethnic group while in boarding schools. For instance, most American Indian raised in boarding schools was forcibly taken from their parents and the children by social service and were not granted access to their parents for months. Genetic factors have also been linked with alcoholism as observed among American Indians. Indeed, evidence of genetic element in the susceptibility to alcoholism has increased in recent years (Kendler, Prescott and Neale 313). Social pressure also makes American Indians to drink alcohol even when they are aware of the health implications of alcohol. Indeed, some of the American Indians who indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol regard drinking as a way of fraternizing with their family and friends. Some also regard drinking as being “Indian” and thus part of the American Indian culture. Indeed, cultural belief among the Indians also contributes to their excessive consumption of alcohol. Among some American Indian tribes, the resolution of a problem lies in the spirit realm. Thus no active step is taken by American Indians alcoholic to stop the excessive consumption of alcohol even when the health implication is apparent. Conclusion It is apparent from the research that some American Indians populations consume excessive amount of alcohol to the detriment of their health; however, the health implications did not suggest that American Indians are frequent or repetitive consumers of alcohols. Indeed, Beals et al. (p. 1683) shows that some of the American Indians are less likely to use alcohol compare to non-Indian groups; they consume excessive amounts when they do drink. Thus the higher levels of health-related problem among American Indian population may be due to the excessive consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. The research also showed that alcoholic American Indians are victims of European colonization and cultural collapse. From the research, I have come to realize the following: 1) that not every American Indian indulges in alcohol abuse and so the group should not be stereotyped. Indeed, alcohol abuse is common in other groups. The documented reports on alcoholism among the American Indian usually focused on certain groups that are predisposed to alcoholism (Beauvais 253); 2) that the alcoholism is foreign to the American Indians. Alcoholism is a European culture and thus the American Indian alcoholic is a victim of colonization; 3) that most American Indian alcoholics has come to accept alcoholism as a way of life. In fact it is “Indian” to drink and get drunk. Works Cited Beals, J., et al. "Racial Disparities in Alcohol Use: Comparison of 2 American Indian Reservation Populations With National Data ." American Journal of Public Health (2003): 1683-1685. Beauvais, F. "American Indians and Alcohol." Alcohol Health & Research World (1998): 253-259. Encyclop?dia Britannica. Alcoholism. 15 May 2011. 15 May 2011 . —. Native American. 15 May 2011. 15 May 2011 . Hisnanick, J. "The prevalence of alcohol abuse among American Indians and Alaska Natives." Health Values (1992): 32-37. Humes, K. R., N. A. Jones and , R. R. Ramirez. Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010. 2010 Census Briefs. Washington DC: U.S. Department of CommerceEconomics and Statistics Administration. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, 2010. Jalonick, M. C. Study: 12 percent of Indian deaths due to alcohol . September 2008. 15 May 2011 . Kendler, K., et al. "Temperance board registration for alcohol abuse in a national sample of Swedish males born 1902-1949." Archives of General Psychiary (1997): 313-321. Levy, J. and S. Kunitz. "Indian reservations, anomie and social pathologies." Southwestern Journal of Anthropology (1971): 97-128. May, P. "Fetal alcohol effects among North American Indians: Evidence and implications for society." Alcohol Health & Research World (1991): 239-248. May, P. "Overview of alcohol abuse epidemiology for American Indian populations." Sandefur, G., R Rindfuss and B Cohen. Changing Numbers, Changing Needs: American Indian Demography and Public Health. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1996. 235-261. Spicer, P. and F. Beauvais. "Re-examining alcohol problems among American Indian communities." Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (2003). Welty, T. K. "The epidemiology of alcohol use and alcohol-related health problems among American Indians and Alaska Natives." Mail, P. D., et al. Alcohol Use Among American Indians and Alaska Natives: Multiple Perspectives on a Complex Problem. Bethesda, MD: US Dept of Health and Human Services, 2002. 49–70. Read More