Jessica Miller

2/26/08

Alcohol Abuse Among Native Americans

It was found in a Health and Human Services study that in excess of three times

as many Native Americans as non-Native Americans die from alcohol-related causes.

National statistics illustrate that Native Americans have alcohol addiction rates that are

three times higher than the national average. Also, Veterans Administration records show

that twice the rate of Native American veterans are alcohol-dependent, 45 percent of the

veteran population. More than 35 percent of all Native American fatalities in the United

States are directly related to alcohol. The federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

found that the death rate for Native Americans from the ages of 15-24 is 11.4 times

higher than for other Americans. A report made in 1994 by the center found that the

excess death of younger people is attributed to higher rates for homicide, suicide,

accidents and death attributable to alcoholism. The Indian Health Service states that 17-

19 percent of all deaths of Native Americans are related to alcohol, compared with 4.7

percent of the general population.

Some doctors have found that there is a genetic predisposition to alcoholism.

There are several genes found to put Native Americans at greater risk of becoming

alcoholics. An early study found that Native Americans have problems metabolizing
alcohol, but the study was found to be false and it was discovered that alcohol is

metabolized rapidly or more rapidly than non-Native Americans. A report titled A Study

of the Alcohol and Drug Health of Wisconsin American Indian Adults Living On or Near

Reservations states that it dispels some myths about alcohol abuse among American

Indians. Metabolism of alcohol among all people groups, whether Caucasian, African

American, Asian American, Latino, or America Indian, is more related to prior drinking

history and body weight than race or ethnicity. Rates of alcohol problems among

American Indians are influenced by the same factors as other people groups. These

factors include genetics, age, social norms and laws, social involvement, economics,

mental health, emotional pain or trauma, self-esteem, and environment. Substance abuse

is not caused by race. However, children of alcoholics are predisposed to alcoholism.

Sons of alcoholics are four times more apt to become alcoholics themselves.

Alcohol is a form of escape from hopelessness and powerlessness. There was a

loss of the Native American way of life with the eradication of the buffalo, the loss of

their language, being taught at boarding schools and other mistreatment. The traditional

religion of the Native Americans has been lost which leads to a spiritual gap that is filled

by some with alcohol. Because of a lack in a strong spiritual foundation, Native

Americans find themselves powerless facing illness, poverty, abuse, and premature death

that is very common in the community. There are also high unemployment rates and in

Montana Native Americans make up 7 percent of the states population but Native

American adults collected 26 percent of the states welfare checks in 1997.

 Suicide is also associated with alcohol abuse. Suicide rates have increased over

the last few decades. Violent deaths and suicide rates among Native Americans far

exceed the rates for non-Native Americans.

According to the Indian Health Service Native Americans are three and a half times

more apt to die from cirrhosis of the liver than other Americans, a standard of addiction.

They are also four times more prone to die as a result of accidents and three times more

likely to die from suicide and homicide in all of which alcohol is often present. Fetal

alcohol syndrome is also prevalent. Between 5 percent and 25 percent of Native

American babies may be born physically and mentally damaged, as opposed to less than

one-fifth of 1 percent in the general population. Alcohol also contributes to numerous,

maybe most of Native American fatalities from diabetes, heart disease, cerebrovascular

disease, pneumonia, and cancer and eventually accounts for possibly as much as 70

percent of the total treatment provided by the Indian Health Services clinics and

hospitals.

On reservations where alcohol is prohibited, there is more binge drinking because

Native Americans on reservations will drink heavily when given the opportunity and then

drink until they run out of money, pass out or get into a fight and are arrested. The

overall alcohol-related death rate is 8.8 percent lower for wet tribes than dry.

Legalization of alcohol on reservations leads to 18 to 47 percent lower mortality rates

from car accidents, homicide, suicide, and cirrhosis. In another study wet tribes were

found to have 12 percent fewer alcohol-related fatalities and 25 percent fewer alcohol-

related deadly car accidents.