Thursday, September 9, 2010
Epidemic for Alaskan Natives
Napoleon asks how can the epidemic for alaskan natives be contained. In my opinion it all depends on how the people in that society can come as a whole and come to a consensus that they as a society have problems relating to alcohol. They have to be willing to take the steps to control the problem. The problem is that it is very difficult to get the majority of the people to all of a sudden stop their addiction to alcohol especially if they have been alcoholics for years. Those people can go into withdrawal which can complicate the people further. Also with all the alcohol related crimes, it can cause the younger people to get influenced in a negative way which can cause more problems for future generations unless they have enough common sense to quit before they start.
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ReplyDeleteI also think it is hard for Alaska Natives to come to this realization when other people are forcing it upon them. A lot of villages in northern parts of Alaska are dry, and it is illegal for alcohol to come in. When something is taken away from you and told your not allowed to have it, it makes the desire that much greater. I wonder if alcohol was legal villages and the consequences for their actions were made were determined by their peers, would they realize the problem their culture has with alcoholism. Like Napoleon was talking about, the only way the Native people can change is by helping themselves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what casavel said about the desire for something being much greater when your not allowed to have it. I'm pretty sure everyone has experienced that at one time or another. So because of this, it really is up to the Natives themselves to change. No one can force change upon another. This only leads to a backlash and resistance to the change. It is a classic reality of life, that unless the person, or people, involved truly wants to change and is willing to put in the effort, nothing will be achieved. So it is up to the Natives themselves. But this is such a huge problem that I don't know if that will ever happen. There are so many people involved and they have such a dificult history. I don't know the solution. And even after this paper was published, nearly 15 years ago, what has been done? Is it any better for the Natives now than it was then?
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