Alcoholism: Oglala Sioux Sue Brewers

The Oglala Sioux of North Dakota are to sue five major brewers for alcohol related problems on their native reserve. Alcohol is forbidden on the reserve.

The tribe also seeks to implicate in the action the nearby town of Whiteclay, Nebraska – a town with four suppliers of beer that in the year 2010 sold nearly five million cans of beer, to its resident population of 12.

Tribal elders say that the action has been taken because negotiations, protests, and attempts to change policy have totally failed to stop the flow of alcohol onto the reserve.

The US-Indian tribe suffers from serious alcohol related disorders, with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) affecting one in four children born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The law suit claims a total of $500 million to provide restitution – to fund health care, social services and child rehabilitation.

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Tom White, lawyer for the Oglala Sioux tribes says that the beer traders in Whiteclay, Nebraska who knowingly supplied alcohol intended for consumption by Indians on the reserve cannot simply wash their hands of responsibility for the ensuing alcohol problems that are rife in the Indian community.

The main problem for people living on the reserve is abject poverty, and the use of alcohol to mitigate their depression.

Tribal president John Yellow Bird Steele says “Like American parents everywhere, we will do everything lawful we can to protect the health, welfare and future of our children.

Life expectancy on the reserve is between 45 and 52 – the lowest expectancy figures for the whole of North America – except for Haiti.

In Canada, the issue of alcoholism among First Nation has been addressed in terms of the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP) since the 1970′s, by which First Nation and Inuit communities are to set up programs and initiatives to combat alcohol, drug and solvent abuse by their people.

Today there are over 550 programs in place, employing over 700 people, that work with prevention, intervention and aftercare.

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In Canada, as in North Dakota, USA, this alcohol policy, designed to protect First Nation and Inuit people has singularly failed.

Alcohol related deaths among First Nations people in British Columbia are said to be five times higher than alcohol deaths for other British Columbians - leading to calls for aboriginal leaders to implement an effective alcohol strategy before more deaths occur.

In BC, 17 out of 203 bands of aboriginal people have alcohol bylaws. Proposed reforms appear to be both limited and directed towards control of alcohol availability and sales.

With 15 in 10,000 First Nation people dying of alcohol, and around double the rate of motor vehicles accidents involving alcohol, compared with the national average (40% for First Nation, compared with 19% throughout Canada ) help is urgently needed.

A genetic potential for abuse has effectively been ruled out – causes of First Nations alcoholism are considered to be endemic poverty, stress, overcrowding, unemployment and sub standard domestic housing.

As with the US Indians, alcohol did not feature in the traditional way of living of the First Nation and Inuit people – alcohol came with invasion by the predominantly white caucasian communities that now call North America their Homeland.

The people themselves say that any alcohol strategy needs to address the social issues that cause their people to drink.

First Nation people need to be given the resources and tools to deal effectively with their poverty, their social exclusion and to maintain their sense of community. Anyone facing the terms and conditions of life as a First Nation person might be forgiven for making alcohol their comfort, their route of escape.

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The situation presents an interesting parallel to the experiments with rats performed by Bruce Alexander relating to drug addiction, in the 1970′s. Drug addiction was almost non-existent in rats that were housed in comfort, with all amenities, compared with rats housed in Skinner boxes, that seized upon any drugs available and used them into oblivion.

Rat Park, the globalisation of addiction provides compelling research as to why Canadian drug policies that deal with alcohol supply do not work, and why social re-modeling is the answer.

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Comprehensive alcohol and drug addiction recovery programs in Canada have for over forty five years provided addicts with an effective, comprehensive psycho-social model for complete addiction recovery.

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People who are seriously committed to getting clean from alcohol and drug abuse, who want to make a new start, are encouraged to use the comprehensive addiction programs, now available in Canada, that have a proven track record of success.  All people can use comprehensive programs for addiction recovery, that have a scientific basis for their efficacy, and all programs are fully monitored, and supervised by professional drug addiction specialists.

With comprehensive programs, for alcohol and drug abuse in Canada, there is more than effective detox.

Programs involve the students in educational coursework that provides the key to future independence, and autonomy -

equiping students with the tools to lead a constructive and happy, drug free life.