Alcohol and Other Drug Addictions Among Native Americans

Native Americans have the highest addiction rate of any group in the United States as well as one of the most difficult treatment records. Part of the problem is a long history of contravening U.S. Indian policies that contributed greatly to the phenomenon known as psychocultural marginality. In addition to alcoholism, notably fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effect (FAE), inhalation abuse is also rampant among this population. Incarceration, and not treatment, has long been the official federal reaction merely exacerbating these problems. It has only been since the mid-1980s that a cultural perspective has been taken toward Native American addiction. Here, the premise is that one needs to foster a positive cultural ethnic identity before one can effectively address the root causes of addiction.