Life in an unknown bubble: Drug Addiction in family
KateriAnn F. Lovato
Santo Domingo Pueblo
Embedded Files
"Sharing one Skin"
In the article “Sharing one Skin” is about a lady named Jeannette Armstrong and her culture. Jeannette Armstrong is from the Okanagan Community in British Columbia. It talks about how she is connected to her community in many ways. How she has to appreciate more than one culture. She shares the meaning of words and how culture relates to them. It is clear that they have a strong connection to their land and to each other.
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"How place names impact they way we see landscape"
In this article by B. Toastie it talks about how names impact the way we see the landscape. For example Toastie talks about how Native people are not as important to the landscape. The article discussed the colonial names given to these places, which are named after men or some that had been in the military. They are not naming the landscape after someone deceased because they want them to keep their journey going. And lastly she talks about how the Indigenous place is named or renamed, that is it is an ancestral name or a new name.
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Research log 2
Research log 2
Methamphetamine overdoses tripled when the covid-19 pandemic hit. Winnie Whitetail has surveyed tribal members that have entered the treatment clinic she runs for the Arapaho and Cheyenne community. Some of her clients were struggling with methamphetamine addiction. Winnie Whitetail says it’s easy to get the substance because everyone makes or sells it around their communities. And it also just doesn't go on in their tribal communities; it happens all around the world. Methamphetamine use is a major high risk addiction and overdoses death in the United States. From 2016- 19 numbers of deaths from methamphetamine rose from 5,526 a year to 15,489 a year which was a 180% increase to the deaths. Some researchers had found that Native Americans and Alaska Natives still had the largest and highest rate of methamphetamine use in recent years.
Research Log 3
Research Log 3
The impact gets worse, when the person using the substances gets really addicted. The substances can cause you to lose jobs, you can have or get health effects. Not only does the substance impact the person using the substance, it also impacts the family because the family wants the person to stop the substance or substances, because maybe they have a child or they just want to see their family member on the good path again. And in the TED talk Sam’s brother had some kind of disease because of his addiction. And as Sam says “addiction is actually more dangerous for family members, for the addict themself.” I understand that because the person themself is numb because of the substance which causes them to overdose, blackout or even suicide. Which hurts the family because the family has to see someone who is not the person they were. And that can also cause the someone in the family to do a substance and it will just keep going on like a cycle. Which can cause maybe the rest of the family or you to have anxiety or depression or even your own suicidal thoughts. The Peace Valley Recovery article connects to my SHP topic because it is talking about how the substance affects the person doing it and also the family. Also how if a child has a parent that is an addict the kid can grow up with problems or have problems or have less guidance in life. And the TED talk is connected to my topic because Sam Fowler talks about how her brother was an addict, and caused the family to not be seen because everyone looks at them weird. So not only do drugs affect the person using the substance it also impacts the family.
https://www.peacevalleyrecovery.com/blog/how-drug-addiction-affects-the-entire-family/
Wasted: Exposing the Family Effect of Addiction | Sam Fowler | TEDxFurmanU
Methamphetamine overdoses tripled when the covid-19 pandemic hit. Winnie Whitetail has surveyed tribal members that have entered the treatment clinic she runs for the Arapaho and Cheyenne community. Some of her clients were struggling with methamphetamine addiction. Winnie Whitetail says it’s easy to get the substance because everyone makes or sells it around their communities. And it also just doesn't go on in their tribal communities; it happens all around the world. Methamphetamine use is a major high risk addiction and overdoses death in the United States. From 2016- 19 numbers of deaths from methamphetamine rose from 5,526 a year to 15,489 a year which was a 180% increase to the deaths. Some researchers had found that Native Americans and Alaska Natives still had the largest and highest rate of methamphetamine use in recent years. This connects to my topic because it talks about how much the use of meth increased within a year.
Methamphetamine Deaths Soar, Hitting Black And Native Americans Especially Hard
Research Log 4
Research Log 4
New Mexico has had more than 43,000 people die from drugs and alcohol in the last 30 years. The number of people dying is getting higher. Most of these deaths are because of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Even though New Mexico is spending a lot more money, people are still dying and it hit an all-time high in 2020. New Mexico has the highest amount of drug and alcohol deaths in the US. COVID-19 caused more problems for people and it could be part of the reason New Mexico had more. Many people in jail have drug and alcohol addiction. They go to jail for crimes they commit while using or while getting money for their addiction. If they want to slow down the people with addiction that go to jail then they need to be sent to treatment. The state should also look at the care people get and get people that are the same race and culture in jobs helping addicts.It says if they really want to make a difference they should give services and help to at-risk populations to keep people from getting addicted to alcohol or drugs in the future.
I think this article is meaningful because of how hard native communities are hit with addiction. It is something that hurts everyone around the addict. They can go to jail but they don’t get treatment. As soon as they get out, they start using again. It just keeps going and going. Treatment would help but getting to it is hard. It takes money or insurance which some people don’t have. You could also live a long distance away from any help so it would be hard to get to. Many people need more than just regular treatment. They need a side that supports the addict or family with medicine or therapy and a side that understands culture and traditions. We don’t have a lot of places like that close to us. Women as a group have some different problems because of addiction. Even though men have higher addiction rates women addicts have more problems medically and socially. Because women have monthly hormonal cycles that can cause headaches, mood swings, pain and other issues. When they see doctors, they are given painkillers more often than men and they are usually stronger. Alcohol kills more women than men. Addiction happens faster and liver and brain damage does too. Because girls weigh less than guys the fat holds onto the alcohol in their body. Women are more likely to use drugs and alcohol to elevate or address moods and to deal with emotional issues than men. It is harder for women to quit and more at risk of relapsing. Women using any substance have a greater chance of complications during pregnancy. Babies can be born addicted because mothers use them while they are pregnant. Addicts aren’t as careful when using and they are at high risk for the mother and baby getting sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and HepC. Women that abuse substances are also more likely to have other mental health issues too.
Our grandparents, aunties and relatives tell us all the time that they won't always be there to help us. There are a lot of young mothers and girls that will have babies that live in my community. Women and girls should know what happens to them and a baby when using drugs or drinking. If we were talking about these things and teaching people it would help our families and communities. And it would be good for families to know this so they could educate the young lady's that are going to have kids or wanting to have kids. Mainly it would be better for the mother or want to be mothers to know this.
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