Saturday, September 11, 2010
Tainted Past
I just got done reading the first chapter of the book, i could have finished earlier but i had way to much homework to do and classes that i needed to catch up in. Napolean's book was really hard to put down at times when i really needed to go something else, because of how much one can learn about the Alaskan natives of the past. I seriously never knew that it's the westerners who are pretty much at blame for there being so many alcoholics within the "native" society today. The Alaskan natives lived in peace and harmony until the westerners showed up. If it wasnt for there arrival there most likley wouldnt have been a great death resulting in PTSD and further resulting in the use of alcohol to calm one's nerves. But then again, the Natives we're free to make there own decisons when it came to drinking or not. They could have escaped the pain and sorrow that the Great Death brought upon them by simply coming closer together. Instead of letting it get to their system with all of the liqour that they consumed.
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I learned a lot by reading this too, because I did not really know anything about that. The westerners were only partly to blame for the alcoholics. I learned in a class last year that since natives have not been exposed to alcohol for that long, they are not tolerant to it. The westerner’s were to blame for bringing it to them. Also, people who drink in my opinion are to blame if they are alcoholics. It was their fault they drank in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Colbi's last statement, i understand that depression makes people do things they might not normally do, but i also know that if you knew alcoholism was in your background and you chose to drink anyway, it was at least mostly your own fault. I'm not saying by this statement that it's all the fault of the natives, but i am saying that partially the problem does fall on the people who begin drinking anyways, even knowing the problem.
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ReplyDeleteI think it is, like almost every other problem, not simply black-and-white. It is a gray area, and no one group of people can be blamed for what has happened. The missionaries cannot be completely blamed for introducing alcohol to the natives, because how were they supposed to know that the natives bodies could not handle it? But at the same time, since it is known now that natives ARE susceptible to addiction to alcohol, it is now their responsibility to know how to handle it. But they allow history to repeat itself again and again even though they have watched their friends and family die from it. Napoleon seems to be able to see all this happening only because he has the benefit of hindsight. Being thrown in prison was a blessing in disguise for him because it allowed him the time and perspective to realize what is happening. He said so himself on page 35: "In suffering and imprisonment, I have found, life becomes starkly clearer, shed of the noise and static of the world."
ReplyDeleteThe thing that got me about Napolean's writing is that he was claiming that Native communities need to come together and heal. Yet, instead of moving forward it seems as though a lot of this writing is blaming other for past history. It's as though he is taking no accountability for Alaska Natives making decisions for themselves. Yes missionaries brought a lot of force and influence to Alaska Natives, but they decided to allow it and have taken to alcohol on their own. How long can the Great Death be blamed for current alcohol abusers?
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