Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Alcoholism in native american communities
Alcoholism in native american communities
Alcoholism in native american communities
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Alcoholism in native american communities
This paper will discuss the Native American culture and briefly review their history, some beliefs and roles in society today. A short description into their culture with References will be used to show how Native Americans have been affected throughout hundreds of years. The trauma this culture endured has created many barriers, yet one often seen today is their extreme problem with the disease of Alcoholism. The Native American culture has gone through endless struggles, which has cost them to lose so much and still continues to impact them today. They are slowly moving back toward getting benefits that should have been available long ago, but in today’s world Native Americans still battle with many barriers not only in society, but in getting appropriate treatment for mental health or addiction issues. According to the Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life Native Americans were miss-represented by the Europeans that came to North America to settle. In the section titled, …show more content…
The population of Native Americans living in poverty is double compared to the U.S overall population rate living in poverty. Williams wrote, “Unemployment is extremely high (90%on some Canadian reserves during winter months), and income levels are extremely low.” Federal housing program often allow Native Americans to be able to afford housing at low cost, but are not considered to be the best living conditions. Reservations are often located in rural areas where it is hard to obtain employment due to location and where access to resources is limited. In the article mentioned above Williams wrote, “Run down trailers and shacks are not uncommon.”(P.386) This kind of housing can be almost unlivable and sometimes even dangerous. It’s even common to see living situation without basic utilities of electricity or water in remote areas (Williams,
together for the better of the shared children. The women had a say in how they would help
American Indians have had health disparities as result of unmet needs and historical traumatic experiences that have lasted over 500 hundred years.1(p99) Since first contact American Indians have been exposed to infectious disease and death2(p19), more importantly, a legacy of genocide, legislated forcible removal, reservation, termination, allotment, and assimilation3. This catastrophic history had led to generational historical traumas and contributes to the worst health in the United States.2 American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) represent 0.9 percent of the United States population4(p3) or 1.9 million AI/AN of 566 federally recognized tribes/nations.5 American Indians/Alaska Natives have significantly higher mortality rates of intentional and unintentional injuries, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease than other American.6
Historical trauma has brought psychological effects on the Native American community. Many suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and poverty. I wondered why they do not get help from the government and after watching the documentary California’s “Lost” Tribes I began to understand that in any reservation the tribe is the government, so they do not have the same rights as a city outside the reservation. Many of the the reservations were placed in areas where they could not do any form of agriculture, so they did not have a source of income. Many of this reservations have to find ways to get themselves out of poverty and many of the reservations within California have found a way to get out of their poverty by creating casinos
All over the world, people have always sought for power, they have struggled to defend their culture; they have worked beyond imaginable to obtain economic prosperity and political freedom. A matter of fact equality is something that nowadays we are still fighting to obtain. Education has always been the key to power. In the twenty-first century education means a way to obtain the American dream, in other words, to achieve success. However, schools were never intended to empower people to think for themselves or to help them succeed. At the beginning of the American school, different groups of people wanted different things to come out of schooling, one of those things was to facilitate reading the bible in the text it states that “Schooling became important as a means of sustaining a well- ordered religious commonwealth” (Spring 22).
Throughout ancient history, many indigenous tribes and cultures have shown a common trait of being hunter/gatherer societies, relying solely on what nature had to offer. The geographical location influenced all aspects of tribal life including, spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices. Despite vast differences in the geographical location, reports show various similarities relating to the spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices of indigenous tribal cultures.
Native Americans suffered hundreds of years of violence, discrimination and forced relocation from their land, during the European invasion of North America. After the Europeans arrive, Indian culture soon became endangered, a culture which developed distinctively shaped tools, sewing needles, clothing, jewelry and weapons. They held strong their own higher cultural beliefs, and legends, retold to them for many generations. During the era of colonization in the United States, Native Americans were subjected to years of despair, of which includes ravaging diseases, conversion to Christianity, European technology, and procurement of native land.
Many people believe that Native Americans are a disadvantaged group of individuals in many ways. Culturally, in that many of the cultures of the various tribes across the Americas were taken from them by Europeans and their descendants. Socially, in that they are unlike other minorities in the United States because of their extra-constitutional status; and even medically, stemming from the general belief that Natives are at a higher risk for disease than other ethnicities due to tobacco and alcohol use, especially when used together (Falk, Hiller-Sturmhöfel, & Yi, 2006).
Native Americans lived on the land that is now called America, but when white settlers started to take over the land, many lives of Native Americans were lost. Today, many people believe that the things that have been done and are being done right now, is an honor or an insult to the Natives. The choices that were made and being made were an insult to the Native Americans that live and used to live on this land, by being insulted by land policies, boardings schools and modern issues, all in which contain mistreatment of the Natives. The power that the settlers and the people who governed them had, overcame the power of the Natives so the settlers took advantage and changed the Natives way of life to the
As a result, living up to worthy expectations also can be difficult for anyone, especially in the modern world, where most people in American society have experimented with alcohol and drugs. Many Native Americans, however, face additional perils that increase their risk for alcohol and substance abuse; for example; cultural conflict, post-traumatic stres...
The impact of various kinds of substances to cultural groups has historically been precipitated by the significance of particular substances on different cultural groups (Moore, 2010).This is mainly because the long term usage of these substances leads to the integration of the consumption of the substance into the cultural patterns of the given group. One such group that has been affected by the extensive usage of a particular substance is the Native American community. According to the Associated Press (2014, August 28), as noted on the MSNBC website, out of ten deaths among the Native American population, one is Alcohol related. Additionally, the prevalence of Alcohol consumption among the Native American population relates to the fact that it’s associated with the various cultural events that define the way of life of Native Americans. Therefore, the focus of this paper shall be on the cultural aspects, effects and prevalence of Alcohol among Native Americans. Particularly, the paper shall outline a brief introduction of the Native American culture and the prevalence of Alcohol in this culture; compare the aspects of alcohol abuse between the Native Americans and the African Americans; analyze the particular effects of alcohol in the body; and demonstrate the cultural impact of Alcohol abuse among the Native Americans.
The Native American Reservation system was a complete failure. This paper focuses on the topics of relocation, Native American boarding schools, current conditions on today’s reservations, and what effects these have had on the Native American way of life.
Native Americans have specific culture characteristics health care providers should have basic knowledge of to provide optimal health care. They received the title “Native” because they are indigenous to North Ame...
In the beginning the settlers created the heavens and the earth. For, America was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the continent. Why is it that we look at the early settlers with such admiration? We view them like gods, where America didn’t exist until they came along; and, once they finally made it through that first thanksgiving turkey, then only good ever came about because of them. Now, you may be saying to yourself: “Thank goodness I’m more educated than that! I know that they were mortal, and even killed Native Americans sometimes.” But do you know what really happened? Do you actually care about the Native Americans more than just being sorry they’re on reserves?
A major factor was the introduction of fortified and distilled alcohol, first by the Europeans and later the Americans, to an indigenous population whose physiology (metabolism and neural compensation) was not accustomed to this concentration of ethanol. Another factor was the introduction of alcohol outside of traditional customs and folkways. While there is evidence of substance use during aboriginal times, notably of fermented corn or cactus juices and psychoactive agents such as peyote and cocoa leaves, these substances were confined to prescribed rituals and were not known to be abused” (French, Laurence 2000). The general public is not aware of the current problems that face Native Americans. They can have alcohol and substance abuse problems, just like any other culture group. Native Americans are also subject to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression as they can only live on reservations for those of the same
Native-Americans make up one of the smallest portions of our population, but are still victims of mass incarceration and police brutality Many Native-American reservations have high unemployment rates. Poverty in these areas is also common. Reserved, sacred land for Native-Americans is also disappearing as more and more land is being taken away by United States government. The government also disobeys treaty rights by exploiting their land for natural resources to gain profit. Low graduation rates are common in Native school districts. Suicide is much more prevalent among Native-American youth when compared to the rest of the nation. They also generally receive poor healthcare. Violence and abuse of children and women is more common in Native-American communities as well.