10 pages in length. It has been determined that the association between poverty and alcoholism within the Native American environment is more than merely a coincidence. Indeed, the inherent connection between the two aspects speaks to issues of pride, failure and a sense of betrayal. It can be argued that the Native American population, a high percentage of whom live in constant poverty, sees no other way to deal with the nagging issues that accompany indigence other than resorting to alcohol as a means by which to ease the emotional and spiritual pain. The writer discusses alcoholism as it relates to Native American poverty, as well as offers a research proposal to further investigate the situation. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: LM1_TLCNatAl.doc
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
inherent connection between the two aspects speaks to issues of pride, failure and a sense of betrayal. It can be argued that the Native American population, a high percentage
of who live in constant poverty, sees no other way to deal with the nagging issues that accompany indigence other than resorting to alcohol as a means by which to
ease the emotional and spiritual pain. "For 500 years, the white western culture has tried to extinguish Native Americans as a group. We have been given malnutrition, poverty,
alcoholism, disease, and now a nuclear waste dump. Were still fighting genocide" (Morrison, 1996, p. 24). II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Providing
results from a study it conducted, the Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University reported that drug and alcohol abuse was the "number one health problem in the country" (Anonymous,
1998, p. backgrnd.htm), which translated into a substantial increase in deaths, disabilities and illnesses over "any other preventable health condition" (p. backgrnd.htm). To be sure, the Native American population
has significantly contributed to these statistical findings, inasmuch as this particular society represents as many as five times more alcoholics than compared with the population in general (Britt, 1997).
Wing (1996) notes that research findings have indicated the fact that within the Native American culture, the reality of alcoholism reflected a sense of abandonment of social and personal responsibility;
in other words, a person who drank was exempt from having to deal with the ills that society has perpetrated upon him. "Hence, the disease concept of alcoholism provided
a culturally acceptable account" (Wing, 1996, p. 54). Whether or not poverty is the singular motivating factor behind Native American alcoholism, it stands to represent one of the most