ABSTRACT
Alcohol was introduced to North American Indian tribal communities by white explorers and traders. Indigenous approaches to prevention and treatment benefit by being accompanied by postcolonial histories of alcohol. Alcohol was associated with assimilation and, like other white cultural artifacts, such as food and clothing, was condemned as a threat to Native identity. Alcohol historically is associated with Indian identity within Native communities and among the broader dominant population. Although early white settlements took measures to limit alcohol, legislative measures were continuously passed and repealed depending on the economic interests of the traders. Postcolonial history of alcohol situates the emergence of alcohol-related problems within the phenomenon of colonial discourse. The association of Native peoples with alcohol occurred within the context of colonial discourse. The portraits chosen to represent Native peoples revealed more about individuals' and groups' own ideology vis-a-vis the burgeoning ethos of modernity than they did about their knowledge or attitude toward real Native people.
