ABSTRACT
Studies by the authors of Native American populations over the past 30 years have revealed alcoholism rates that appear to be the highest in the world. In some groups it is virtually impossible to find any adult over 18 years of age who is not an alcoholic or recovering alcoholic. Alcoholism and, more recently, poly-substance abuse have threatened the fabric of family life, leading to substantially increased divorce rates, separation, child abuse, beatings, suicides, and cases of fetal alcohol syndrome.
Even the most remote of Alaska's towns—those on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, unreachable except by air—have been affected by both alcoholism and drug abuse. Poverty alone is not the cause. In fact, some evidence suggests that more money alone would simply exacerbate the problem. Multiple causes suggest there is no single simple solution. Rather, multifaceted efforts from every possible resource sustained over time offer the best hope of restoring sobriety and family integrity to the Native American.
