Alcohol Effects On Native Americans

This report will discuss the introduction of alcohol to the native people and the effects it had. Alcohol was a substance brought in by the Europeans and caused a bad image for native Americans. Trading alcohol was easier for the Europeans because they weren’t the ones being damaged. They were receiving better goods in return. In the articles, “American Indians and Alcohol” and “Historical and Cultural Roots of Drinking Problems Among American Indians,” we gain information about how alcohol became dominant and took over a group of people and almost wiped them out. Indians become addicted to alcohol after seeing how the white man feel about it. Behavior from drinking too much was causing the Indians to look bad. The behavior can be a genetic

Before the European arrival, alcohol was not a known substance in the Americas. Beers and wines were produced but they were weak. The intoxication levels were not as strong as the alcohol that was later introduced. Native Americas were going through major changes with the Europeans settlement. New trading materials were being produced and introduced by both group of people. Alcohol became a very important trading material because everyone was benefiting form it, especially the Europeans. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism made life difficult for Native Americans. There was a stereotype about Indians drinking too much and that stereotype has caused many damages to them and still has an effect. Native Americans adults and children both drink alcohol and it just adds on to their bad reputation. The articles that I read discuss the history of alcoholism of Native Americans and the poor effects of the alcohol abuse and how they use changed as times goes

As Beauvais wrote in the article, “Early traders quickly established a demand for alcohol by introducing it as a medium of trade often using it in exchange for highly sought-after animal skins and other resources. Traders also found that providing free alcohol during trading sessions gave them a distinct advantage in their negotiations.” (Beauvais, 253). This advantage caused Native American alcohol use to increase and caused them to suffer while the settlers were enjoying their time. The colonists didn’t want the Indians but they wanted their stuff and knowing that alcohol was the natives’ favorite; they used it against them. Alcohol was also used as a payment for the natives. In “Historical and Cultural Roots of Drinking Problems Among American Indians,” the author wrote, “…Some native peoples were conditioned by early practices to receive alcohol as payment and therefore consider it a marker if economic success.” (Frank, Moore, and Ames, 348). Indigenous people were basically being handed poison and they saw it as rewards and they left consuming it. They were harming their