Native Americans and alcoholism

Alcoholism is a recurrent theme explored throughout the novel "There There." Historically, European colonists were the first to make large amounts of alcohol available to Indians through trade, according to Fred Beauvais, Ph.D. This was the first encounter Natives really had with alcohol. However, through the infliction of trauma, tragedy, and loss of sovereignty, many Natives began to internalize their pain, and cope through the common method of drinking. Alcohol is an addictive substance often used for self-medication throughout the novel. Jackie Red-Feather describes how deeply the substance has permeated her body when discussing her 10 day sobriety. Jackie states “[t]en days is the same as a year when you want to drink all the time” (99). Drinking as a response to pain is prevalent in the novel, interweaving in many different character's stories. Thomas Frank for example discusses the root of his own drinking, he states “[h]ow you ended up getting fired was related to your drinking which was related to your skin problems, which was related to your father, which was related to history” (217). He continues “[s]o you had it coming in a way. That need that won’t quit. That years-deep pit you were bound to dig, crawl into, struggle to get out of” (217). Frank comments on the cycle of alcoholism, citing the root of his downfall in history and his father. Acknowledging that the pit was bound to be dug gives Thomas Frank, and also other characters, an almost defeatist attitude, with hopelessness that he/she will not break the cycle. Jackie Red-Feather, stifled by the burden of alcoholism, describes the numbness felt that leads her to continue drinking, she states “[u]ntil your eyes are drained out and you can’t see behind you and there’s nothing ahead, and the needle, the bottle, or the pipe is the only thing in sight that makes any sense” (106). For many who experienced the cycle of alcoholism, drinking becomes the only known coping mechanism, if not shown other mechanisms for dealing with trauma. Jackie describes using alcohol as a crutch, she exclaims “the problem that became a drinking problem started for me way before the drinking was even related to it” (109). While attending a substance abuse and mental health services administration conference, Jackie watches a speaker comment on the suicide problem within the Native community, often coupled with alcohol use. The speaker states “we’ve tried to find ways to get them to stop jumping. Convince them that burning alive is better than leaving when the shit gets too hot for them to take. We’ve boarded up windows and made better nets to catch them, found more convincing ways to tell them not to jump. They’re making the decision that it’s better to be dead and gone than to be alive in what we have here, this life, the one we made for them, the one they’ve inherited” (104). The speaker acknowledges the issue within Native society, often in result of trans-generational trauma and alcohol use, in hopes for effective initiatives in treating the problems at the root.