User:Jbryant5092/sandbox

The Historiography of alcohol abuse among Canadian First Nations provides a number of viewpoints which are central to the study of the historic state of health of Native American populations. There are two primary debates within the historiography of alcohol abuse in First Nations. The first is the debate over whether alcoholism actually represents a problem unique to Aboriginal populations. Arguments regarding the existence or distinctiveness of widespread alcohol abuse among First Nations are based almost exclusively on statistical data. The second major debate focuses on potential causes of alcoholism among Aboriginals. There are three dominant arguments in the debate over the causes of alcohol abuse among First Nations populations; that the problem is largely caused by influence of Europeans, economic conditions, or biological factors. Less dominant arguments in this debate focus on the roles of culture and the integration of Aboriginals into Canadian society. Recent debates have moved towards an analysis of outside factors which may have contributed to alcohol abuse and shifted away from arguments focusing on the deficiencies of Aboriginal people or their culture.

Reasons for Changing Attitudes
Attitudes towards Aboriginal alcoholism have shifted throughout the late twentieth century for a number of possible reasons. First, alcoholism itself has become better understood, and is no longer thought to be tied to a lack of moral fortitude, or the deficiencies of one cultural group. Secondly, Aboriginal communities are becoming more integrated into Canadian society, and Canadians are gaining more awareness of the challenges faced by these communities leading to more accurate and in-depth analysis of alcoholism among First Nations. Finally, the amount of statistical data on any given subject grows with each passing year, meaning that better comparisons can be made between alcohol abuse in Aboriginal communities and alcohol abuse in wider Canadian society (or specific groups within Canadian society).

Debate over the existence of Aboriginal Alcoholism
Although there are Aboriginal alcohol abusers, there is debate over whether the problem of alcoholism among First Nations is any more widespread or prevalent than it is among the rest of the Canadian population. This debate makes use of statistical data almost exclusively, and attempts to compare levels of alcoholism between two or more demographic groups. As a result of the use of statistical data within this debate it is possible for strong, conflicting arguments to be made simultaneously because of potential problems with gathering or interpretation of statistics. For example, writer Richard Thatcher uses statistical data to demonstrate that overall alcohol use among First Nations peoples is on average lower than among the rest of the Canadian population and states that despite this fact the perception of "the drunken Indian" continues both among non-aboriginals, and Aboriginals themselves. While at the same time, a contrary argument can be made using other sets of data to demonstrate highly disproportionate alcohol abuse within Native communities when compared to other populations. While this is an important debate within the historiography, some writers do not address this debate, instead focusing more on the causes of alcoholism, rather than an examination of whether Aboriginal alcohol abuse exists or not.

Biological Factors
The idea that Native Americans are in some way naturally predisposed to alcohol abuse and addiction is one of the oldest and most influential arguments regarding the cause of alcoholism among Aboriginals. The belief that Aboriginals were naturally driven to alcoholism was originally based on racially driven theories with little scientific or medical basis and reinforced by legislation produced to prohibit Aboriginal access to alcohol. Later in the century this argument evolved, attempting to use genetics to prove Native Americans' predisposition to alcohol abuse. This view began to fade from prominence later in the century and its demise was expedited by the failure to discover any substantial genetic cause of alcoholism within any population. Stereotypes about "drunken Indians" based on biology are still prominent though, despite a lack of scientific evidence and these stereotypes are potentially influential in regards alcohol treatment and policy. For example, alcoholism is still often referred to as a disease, which some believe implies a genetic factor. Richard Thatcher argues against a genetic basis and the disease model of alcohol abuse among First Nations in his 2004 work, Fighting Firewater Fictions.

European Influence
MacAndrew and Edgerton's 1969 work, Drunken Comportment: A Social Explanation, is often cited as being the genesis of the view that alcohol abuse is a learned behaviour, and that alcohol abuse among Aboriginal communities is a result of the example set by heavy-drinking European colonizers. This view is quite prominent, with a number of scholars citing the example of Europeans as a major contributor to problems of alcohol abuse among First Nations.

European influence on Aboriginal drinking behaviours is one of the strongest arguments attempting to determine a cause of alcohol abuse among First Nations people. Although the influence of Europeans would have begun as early as the sixteenth century in the earliest stages of exploration and colonization, it could have easily continued into the twentieth century. For example, over the course of the twentieth century some Aboriginals became involved in frontier type industries that had a heavy drinking culture associated with them. This happened to Chief Simon Baker of the Squamish Nation, who, in his career as a longshoreman, became a part of the heavy drinking culture associated with the job.

It is important to realize that even the average North American colonist would have been drinking much more alcohol on a daily basis than would be considered normal or socially acceptable by modern standards. It is argued that the consumption behaviours of frontiersmen such as fur traders, who First Nations people were most likely to come in contact with even into the twentieth century, would have set an even more dangerous example for Aboriginals. Similarly, soldiers or police, who largely came to replace frontiersmen in the early twentieth century and were used to take control of First Nations' land exhibited virtually an identical drinking model to their earlier counterparts, meaning that the drinking behaviours of hard drinking Europeans was still a significant influence on Aboriginal alcohol consumption well into the 20th century.

Some sources also discuss the use of alcohol by government officials when orchestrating treaties or land agreements with First Nations populations. As the officials were aware of native problems with alcohol they used this to their advantage, getting community leaders drunk, or offering them gifts of alcohol prior to treaty negotiations, which would allow the government officials to get leaders to agree to less favourable terms.

Although this argument is usually used to demonstrate why there is a problem of alcohol abuse among Aboriginals, it has also been used to argue for First Nations to have increased access to alcohol. During debate over repealing the prohibition of the sale of alcohol to Aboriginals in the 1950s, some First Nations' leaders used the basic idea of this argument to argue for the legalization of alcohol in their communities. These essentially argued that although dangerous behaviours were learned, less dangerous behaviours could also be learned if First Nations communities were given more exposure and access to alcohol. This argument has been proven so be at least somewhat true, as examinations of more recent policies on alcohol legislation have demonstrated that community determined legislation may be resulting in a decrease of alcohol abuse. Since local alcohol legislation among Aboriginal communities began in 1972, communities created diverse legislation to address the specific needs of their community. This plays into the belief that lack of control over their community played a significant part in rates of alcohol abuse.

Economic Factors
Economics are also often cited as a cause for alcohol abuse among First Nations populations. Economic causes for First Nations alcohol abuse can fall within two categories, Aboriginals being used as buyers of alcohol, and the role of Aboriginals' own economic position in the promotion of alcohol abuse. Evidence for this argument comes from personal accounts and narratives, as well as the examination of legislation, such as the Indian Act, or R. v. Quong Tape and its effects.

The earliest history of Aboriginals being viewed as consumers of alcohol includes the use of alcohol as a preferred commodity among Europeans for trade with Aboriginal populations. This was a result of the constant demand, high profit, and non-perishable nature of the product which made it an obvious choice for those doing business with native groups. While this was a problem in itself, in some cases the constant use of alcohol in trades led to alcohol becoming a symbol of wealth and status among some Aboriginal groups, which only encouraged further consumption. Similar, but more recent examples focus on the responsibility of manufacturers and sellers of alcohol. A strong case can be made showing that manufacturers and sellers specifically target cultural and socio-economic groups who are likely to abuse alcohol by heavily promoting very cheap liquors among these demographics. This is particularly troublesome among Aboriginal communities as it only serves to perpetuate the perception of Aboriginals as alcohol abusers. This argument can also include the role of advertisers and their use of marginalized cultures' own cultural symbols in their marketing campaigns. This causes their advertisements to be particularly effective because members of the targeted culture have such a positive response to seeing their cultural symbols used in a large scale marketing strategy where they would not normally be seen. In both of these cases sellers of alcohol are pushing their product upon First Nations populations for economic gain, while their products can have very damaging effects on the communities involved.

Poor economic conditions can put any population at risk of alcohol abuse, and this is also the case with First Nations in Canada. The Indian Act, implemented in 1876 was intended to simply prevent alcoholism within Aboriginal communities. The legislation had other effects though, as it prevented Canadian Aboriginals from a number of potential business opportunities, such as restaurants, hotels, and bars. Legislation such as the Indian Act not only prevented Aboriginals from ownership of establishments serving alcohol, but barred them from working there as well. Aboriginals were barred from this type of work until the mid-1950s, when all laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol to Aboriginals were withdrawn. Although there were many other lines of work open to Aboriginals, the alcohol legislation had far reaching effects, even preventing natives who owned stores from buying or selling any products containing alcohol as an ingredient. While this legislation did not prevent Aboriginal entrepreneurs from opening, hotels, restaurants, or stores, the laws made them significantly less competitive against their unrestricted business rivals.These complications of Canadian alcohol legislation could be avoided by Aboriginals however, because the Indian Act allowed for the sale and use of alcohol by Aboriginals on the condition that they renounced their Indian status and became Canadian Citizens. Another socio-economic effect of the Indian Act, can be seen by looking at examples from early twentieth century British Columbia. Chinese immigrants in British Columbia, an economically disadvantaged group themselves, were a key part of a lucrative, illegal trade in alcohol to First Nations communities beginning in the late nineteenth century.In this case however, the legislation was used to improve one group's economic status, while still being potentially damaging to the other. This relationship also helped to perpetrate racial fears, about both the Chinese and Aboriginals, which were prevalent at the time. As for other socio-economic impacts of colonization which may have led to alcohol abuse, those involved in the debate cite reports dating as early as the 1950s which show that life for Aboriginals in the reserve system is highly isolated from the rest of the country and devoid of most of the opportunities available to most Canadian citizens. The reserve system causes communities within the system to fail, as they cannot become properly functioning communities or societies because of their simultaneous dependence and isolation from the outside world. This obviously presents a dangerous situation for people living within the system as they are dis-empowered to affect their own future and have relatively little control over their own lives, a set of circumstances which can easily lead to substance abuse. Reports from throughout the 50s and 60s criticize these "total institutions" in which the conditions and course of people's lives are entirely determined by government offices. Reports show examples of constant violence, mental illness, and substance abuse. Institutions such as residential schools are included in this discussion, and are considered to be another example of a "total institution" which is likely to create further self destructive behaviours such as those discussed above. It is also argued that a sharp divide between strictly disciplined areas such as a residential school and the relatively loosely disciplined reservation can also be extremely dangerous in increasing the risk of alcohol abuse. This is because people come to rely on institutionalized rules and norms, and then when they are suddenly thrust into an environment where the same rules and norms no longer exist, they need a coping mechanism which they may find in alcohol.These examples, along with the wide variety of other disadvantages European colonization of North America caused Native Americans, are argued to be a significant cause of alcohol abuse among First Nations.

Culturally produced problem
Another possible contributor to First Nations alcohol abuse cited by academics are certain aspects native cultures. Communal feasts (where large amount of alcohol may be consumed by all members of the community), rituals to relieve frustrations, which often turn violent, and social norms which discourage interference in others' personal lives are cited as aspects of native culture which may promote alcoholism. Like many of the other debates on this topic, writers are not in agreement that this may be a possible cause of alcoholism. Examinations of Aboriginal religion argue that for many Aboriginal groups, alcohol became closely tied to religion practices and clear distinctions between acceptable and unacceptable drinking behaviours were quickly developed. While these practices largely developed when alcohol was introduced to North America by Europeans, the practices persisted into the twentieth century in some communities.

A contemporary problem
Others also argue that the problem of alcohol abuse in First Nations communities has, for the most part, only developed since the mid-twentieth century. This argument focuses on the growing integration of Aboriginals into Canadian society, stating that Canadian attempts at assimilation, as well as simply an increased presence of Canadian institutions in Aboriginal life is a major cause of alcohol abuse. This increased integration has caused significant challenges for Aboriginal communities, perhaps most notably a significant loss of culture and language, as young Aboriginals increasingly adopt Canadian culture.The rapid development of rural areas since World War Two is also cited as an aspect of this argument, as it has also caused further integration of previously isolated groups into Canadian society. It is argued that these challenges have caused Aboriginals to turn to alcohol as a way to cope with these problems. Examples used to support this argument include a 1936 trial in the Yukon where an Aboriginal was charged with the murder of another citizen. The increased prevalence of institutions such as residential schools are also examined within this argument as residential schools played an important, if unfortunate, role in the assimilation and integration of First Nations in Canadian society.