ABSTRACT
Native Americans and Alaska Natives number 6.6 million or 2% of the United States population. Native Americans are the most diverse group because there are many Native tribes and each tribe has its own history, traditions, and culture. Despite the existence of advanced Native cultures, European explorers viewed Natives as savages, dominated by passions, especially sexuality. Before European colonization, Native gender roles were largely undifferentiated. The firewater myth is the stereotype that Native Americans are sensitive to the effects of alcohol and vulnerable to alcohol problems because of biological or genetic differences between themselves and other groups. Banishing Natives to previously uninhabited regions of the nation was not the end of government interference. Many colonists interpreted Native deaths as divine intervention and confirmation that they should take the land. Native Americans and Alaska Natives gained some civil rights during the early twentieth century.
