Throughout Canadian history, since white settlers first set foot on the sacred soils which we now call home, First Nations peoples have been discriminated against. Their beliefs have been challenged, their land has been taken, their children were sent to residential schools and they have been stereotyped. Indigenous people have been stereotyped as constantly drunk, along with other stereotypes which have caused many racist halloween costumes, for example. The "drunk indian" stereotype is not only discriminatory but also hurtful, which is why this harmful topic must be discussed in today's conversation.
In the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie, the protagonist, Arnold Junior, is surrounded by alcoholism.
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His father is an alcoholic, his mother is an ex drinker and the general impression is that everyone in his community suffers from a drinking problem. All of these characters, all of these alcoholism references are blunt references to the stereotypes existing on the "drunken indian" and also show just how the outer community: being in the United States or in Canada or anywhere else in the world, mistreats First Nations. Although this book is set in the United States, with these problems residing there, the exact same parallel exists here in "accepting" Canada. An Aboriginal woman, Tamara, grew up in Winnipeg and experienced firsthand the consequences of alcoholism.
Both her parents were addicted to alcohol, like so many other aboriginal people living in Winnipeg. The cause for her father's alcoholism was from the abuse he suffered in a residential school when growing up, being that these effects lasted his entire life. Tamara was then forced to grow up in a series of foster homes and ended up living on her own at the age of only 15. Throughout her teenage years, she struggled with an addiction to crystal meth, 16 to 20 years old, and then as an adult, alcohol. She was drawn to the familiar liquid when she lost over 7 members of her family, in the span of only 4 years. After this difficult time, she discovered CAMH, a treatment centre for Aboriginal woman and has been living without alcohol since. This tragic story, unfortunately, is only one of thousands, varying in their addictions and losses. Tamara's story is also a nearly complete parallel to Arnold Junior's life in the book, as he looses several friends and family members in a short span of time, most deaths due to alcoholism. These stories prove that alcoholism is a large problem, but it can also be solved with hard work and determination. As Tamara said "I guess what native people have to learn... is that you can do just as much harm to yourself as people can do to …show more content…
you." The "drunken Indian" is seen not only in Canada and the United States, but also worldwide.
In reality, many Aboriginal people suffer from alcoholism, being that 75% of First Nations people say that they feel alcohol is a problem in their community, but more First Nations adults abstain from drinking than the general population. Specifically, 34.4& compared to 20.7% among non-abstained, non-natives. To expand further, 17.8% of First Nations adults drink on a weekly to daily basis compared to 44% of the general population. These statistics prove that this stereotype is false in the extreme version it is meant as, although this is not to mean that First Nations do not drink. Indigenous people tend to be more extreme when drinking, something known as binge-drinking. They will either be abstained or extreme, only with the occasional in between. Alcohol abuse among native people is not a myth... but there are extremist stereotypes which should not apply.
The causes of drinking in First Nations communities is a large mix of things, although studies have shown that the main causes are unprocessed pain and rage, social tension and a breakdown of traditional social controls. In "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian", funerals are a time of communal drinking, to drown out the despair and to become somewhat numb to the pain. One Aboriginal man, named Nelson Bieundurry, said "People have to remember there's a reason why Aboriginal people drink... Drinking is escape. Have a few
drinks and you can forget everything" Alcoholism, like any other addiction, is very difficult to overcome, but with hard work and determination, a solution can be found. Orginizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, The Indigenous Sobriety Group and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) are all good resources for overcoming addiction. Other ways alcoholism could be reduced would be a reduction in the overexaggereated stereotypes of Indigenous drinking, and any and all efforts of compasssion and support. Something must change. Approximately every hour, an alcohol related death occurs. As Arnold Junior once wrote, when he was full of rage because of the rampant alcoholism on his reserve, "Grandparents are supposed to die of first, but they are supposed to die of old age. They're supposed to die of a heart attack or a stroke or cancer or of Alzheimers. THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO GET RUN OVER AND KILLED BY A DRUNK DRIVER". The people, worldwide, need to make an effort to help our First Nations people, people who are the same as us.
Alcohol was introduced into Native American culture many years ago and has been a source of suffering since. In Flight, Zits states that his father “was more in love with vodka than with him and his mother,” and it is this statement that helps drive the story along (Sherman 4). Zits addresses the stereotype that come along with being Native American. The major one mentioned in the story is that Native Americans consume a lot of alcohol. This follows what is known as the firewater myth, which says that Native Americans “…may be genetically predisposed to crave ever increasing doses of alcohol…”—this was and still is believed by several researchers (Lamarine). This alcoholism leads to instability within homes and leaves the child to suffer. A perfect example of this is when Zits says that his father “vanished like a magician” shortly after he was born (Sherman 5). It was fear that made Michael’s father run, but it was fear mixed with alcohol that...
Imagine being taken from your family at the age of six. Being referred to as a number rather than a name. Receiving brutal and cruel punishments for speaking the only language you were taught. How would it impact your life? Unfortunately, this is the reality for millions of Canada's Indigenous population. The nation of Canada is known to the world for being a country of peace, love and equality. Individuals originating from different nationalities immigrate to Canada, in hopes to improve their standard of living and escape the horrors of their country. Moreover, Canadians have not always been as supportive and welcoming of new ethnicities populating Canadian territory as they portray themselves to be today. Indian Horse is known to be an insightful
Arnold Spirit is fourteen years old, and he has already attended forty-two funerals. “And you know what the worst part is? The unhappy part? About 90 percent of the deaths have been because of alcohol.” In the acclaimed novel and award winning audiobook The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, author Sherman Alexie tells the realistic, yet fictional, account of Arnold Spirit, better known as “Junior” on the Spokane Indian reservation where he lives. Junior’s family even expected him to “croak” at six months old when doctors cut open his skull to remove the water in his brain. But, he lives. ...
Canada likes to paint an image of peace, justice and equality for all, when, in reality, the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in our country has been anything but. Laden with incomprehensible assimilation and destruction, the history of Canada is a shameful story of dismantlement of Indian rights, of blatant lies and mistrust, and of complete lack of interest in the well-being of First Nations peoples. Though some breakthroughs were made over the years, the overall arching story fits into Cardinal’s description exactly. “Clearly something must be done,” states Murray Sinclair (p. 184, 1994). And that ‘something’ he refers to is drastic change. It is evident, therefore, that Harold Cardinal’s statement is an accurate summarization of the Indigenous/non-Indigenous relationship in
Generations of native people in Canada have faced suffering and cultural loss as a result of European colonization of their land. Government legislation has impacted the lives of five generations of First Nations people and as a result the fifth generation (from 1980 to present) is working to recover from their crippled cultural identity (Deiter-McArthur 379-380). This current generation is living with the fallout of previous government policies and societal prejudices that linger from four generations previous. Unrepentant, Canada’s ‘Genocide’, and Saskatchewan’s Indian People – Five Generations highlight issues that negatively influence First Nations people. The fifth generation of native people struggle against tremendous adversity in regard to assimilation, integration, separation, and recovering their cultural identity with inadequate assistance from our great nation.
Robinson, David. From Drinking to Alcoholism: A Social Commentary. London: John Wiley and Sons, 1976.
Living in Canada, there is a long past with the Indigenous people. The relationship between the white and First Nations community is one that is damaged because of our shameful actions in the 1800’s. Unnecessary measures were taken when the Canadian government planned to assimilate the Aboriginal people. Through the Indian Act and Residential schools the government attempted to take away their culture and “kill the Indian in the child.” The Indian Act allowed the government to take control over the people, the residential schools took away their culture and tore apart their families, and now we are left with not only a broken relationship between the First Nations people but they are trying to put back together their lives while still living with a harsh reality of their past.
Reading this I remembered, that I heard in AA meetings people referred to alcohol as their best friend, who is reliable and present. In case of Caroline’s mother death, she turned to her drink for the support and comfort, in the manner of a child who is afraid to be without a favorite blanket or a teddy bear. “Protect me. Shield me from being alone in my own head”, those thoughts were racing in her mind as she increased her daily alcohol intake after her parent’s death. Knapp got sober two years after, and it was sad for me (and I am sure for Caroline, too) to realize that her parents never have seen her daughter free from the addiction, never will have quality time with them and a brand new relationship that they could have been built if Caroline would not have been
The Indian act, since being passed by Parliament in 1876, has been quite the validity test for Aboriginal affairs occurring in Canada. Only a minority of documents in Canadian history have bred as much dismay, anger and debate compared to the Indian Act—but the legislation continues as a central element in the management of Aboriginal affairs in Canada. Aboriginal hatred against current and historic terms of the Indian Act is powerful, but Indigenous governments and politicians stand on different sides of the fence pertaining to value and/or purpose of the legislation. This is not shocking, considering the political cultures and structures of Aboriginal communities have been distorted and created by the imposition of the Indian Act.
Despite the decreasing inequalities between men and women in both private and public spheres, aboriginal women continue to be oppressed and discriminated against in both. Aboriginal people in Canada are the indigenous group of people that were residing in Canada prior to the European colonization. The term First Nations, Indian and indigenous are used interchangeably when referring to aboriginal people. Prior to the colonization, aboriginal communities used to be matrilineal and the power between men and women were equally balanced. When the European came in contact with the aboriginal, there came a shift in gender role and power control leading towards discrimination against the women. As a consequence of the colonization, the aboriginal women are a dominant group that are constantly subordinated and ignored by the government system of Canada. Thus today, aboriginal women experiences double jeopardy as they belong to more than one disadvantaged group i.e. being women and belonging to aboriginal group. In contemporary world, there are not much of a difference between Aboriginal people and the other minority groups as they face the similar challenges such as gender discrimination, victimization, and experiences injustice towards them. Although aboriginal people are not considered as visible minorities, this population continues to struggle for their existence like any other visible minorities group. Although both aboriginal men and women are being discriminated in our society, the women tends to experience more discrimination in public and private sphere and are constantly the targeted for violence, abuse and are victimized. In addition, many of the problems and violence faced by aborigin...
One of the most common stereotypes are that all Native Americans are alcoholics, more so than other ethnicities. A study was conducted by Karen Chartier, a Faculty Associate the University of Texas looking in to this truth of this stereotype. She discovered that it was white people, specifically white men who were more likely to consume alcohol on a daily basis (Chartier & Caetano, n.d.). Often Natives are discriminated for their culture and being “red skinned.” This can be seen by sports teams, from high school to the pros. Like the Southwest Indians, or the Washington Redskins. Some teams have changed their names and logos from these offensive examples, but some like Washington’s NFL team have yet to replace the name. There’s many other examples of stereotypes that they face. Like that they run on “Indian time” therefore they are always late for planned events, hence that they are all lazy. Other ones like they are all uneducated and never go to college, or when they do go to college they receive “special” aid from the government (Ridgway, 2013). However, that aid that they receive is available to other historically disadvantaged groups as well, and is part of what the government owes them for taking their land which is states in the contracts that were signed (Ridgway,
No community in Canada comes into conflict with criminal justice system officials more disproportionately than Aboriginals (Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.77). Indeed, Aboriginal Canadians are often subject to both overt and unintended discrimination from Canadian law enforcement due in large part to institutionalized reputations as chronic substance abusers who are incapable of reform (Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.77-78). One of the more startling contemporary examples of this is the case of Frank Paul; a Mi’kmaq Canadian who was left to die in a Vancouver alley by officers of the Vancouver Police Department after being denied refuge in a police “drunk tank”. Not surprisingly, this event garnered significant controversy and public outcry amongst Canada’s Aboriginal population who have long been subject to over-policing and persistent overrepresentation as offenders in the Canadian criminal justice system (Jiwani & Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.43 & 81).
Alcoholism is an addiction to the consumption of alcohol or the noetic illness and compulsive demeanor resulting from alcohol dependency. Heavy drinking causes considerable damage to the body including cancer, heart problems, and liver disease. Alcoholics have deep rooted problems associated with alcohol abuse such as trying to keep families together as well as personal relationships. Alcoholics have a tendency to lie about their addiction and are mostly in denial as they cannot acknowledge or recognize that their is a problem with their alcohol consumption. In the event of people that depend on liquor to capacity or feel physically constrained to drink they are considered an alcoholic. Alcohol abuse is the most extreme manifestation of issue drinking. Substance masters make a refinement alcohol and alcohol abuse (likewise called alcohol reliance). Not at all like heavy drinkers, liquor abusers capacity as far as possible on their drinking habits. In any case their liquor utilization upset toward oneself and hazardous to themselves or others. Regularly, relatives and close companions feel committed to blanket for the individual with the drinking issue. So friends tend to tackle the load of cleaning up wreckage, heaps, lying or working more to make a decent living. Imagining that nothing isn't right and concealing without end the sum of their apprehensions and feelings of disdain can take a huge toll. Kids are particularly touchy and can endure significant trauma when a guardian is a heavy drinker or overwhelming consumer. It also makes families totally resent and hate being accompanied by the person with the alcohol problem. (www.helpguid.org 1).
Laurie River Lodge in Manitoba addressed their position on the argument in their 2011 trip planning guide. In which they advised attendees that they employ Cree Indians as guides, and to not provide them with alcohol as “…like all Native Americans, they have a basic intolerance
The cause of alcoholism is a combination of biological, psychological, and cultural factors that may contribute to the development of...