"And then I went to school" by Joseph Suina

Suina was a boy who shared great things about his community. He talked about the comfort found in many of the little things in his home but as he grew up he had to go to school. When he went to school he was criticized for using his Native language and was told “leave your Indian at home”. Soon he got used to it and he came home but everything felt different. It was like the opposite for him like he was finding everything wrong with his home. Then again he went back to his old ways but by then it was time for him to leave back to school.

Suina, Joseph “And I went to school” memories of a pueblo childhood,”. New Mexico Journal of Reading, Winter 1985, Vol. V, No.2.

"How Place Names Impact The Way We See Landscape" by B. Toastie

Memories and stories are connected to our land as described by B. Toastie in the article, “How Place Names Impact The Way We See Landscape”. Toastie also described how names are the reason stories came up and how certain landscapes are named after people. But the guest speakers mentioned in the article that they can’t name something after someone without their permission because it’ll keep them from continuing on their journey back home. To keep things all good they add “yée” so that they can’t have power. It’s different how certain people can have different beliefs on how landscapes relate to their culture.

Toastie, B. “How place names impact the way we see landscape.” High Country News:    Know the West, 1 May 2022, https://www.hcn.org/issues/54.5/people-places-how-place-names-impact- the-way-we-see-landscape.

"History and Challenges in Substance Abuse Prevention Among American Indian Communities" by Phillip A. May

This chapter from “History and Challenges in Substance Abuse Prevention Among American Indian Communities” talked about the different challenges you face when it comes to Substance Abuse. Some of the things they talk about is Alcohol Leagalization, Prevention and Treatments, Suicide, Prevention among the Youth, etc. Another thing that they talked about that I thought was big was that in the text it states “There have been many myths regarding drinking among American Indians since the first contact between American Indians and European populations.”Everything started when the Europeans came. 

May, Philip A. "History and challenges in substance abuse prevention among American Indian communities." Best Practices in Behavioral Health Services for American Indians and Alaska Natives. One Sky National Resource Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Services. Portland Oregan, United States (2005): 1-24.

"Alcohol and Substance Abuse" 

Substance and Alcohol abuse is a big thing in many Native American Communities. This article goes in deeper on how Native Americans were first exposed to alcohol. “By the early 20th century the drunken Indian stereotype was inseparable from other stereotypical and discriminatory attitudes.” We wouldn’t have been exposed to alcohol if we didn’t cross paths with britain. They also talked about the other difficulties that led us to certain substance uses. 

Bishop, Merlene. "Alcoholism and Substance Abuse." The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024, americanindian-abc-clio-com.sfis.idm.oclc.org/Search/Display/1385324. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.

"Stereotypes Regarding Use of Alcohol by Native American." 

There are different stereotypes from drunk Indians to drug addicts to reservation. They talk about the different statistics in high schoolers dropping out and the poorest reservations. They also talk about education and how alcoholism prevents students from graduation. The last thing they talk about is the IHS which services many Native Communities. It was created in 1955. 

Domina, Lynn. "Stereotypes Regarding Use of Alcohol by Native American." The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024, americanindian-abc-clio-com.sfis.idm.oclc.org/Search/Display/1839031. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.

"Substances and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native populations" 

The summary of “Substance and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations” by Claradina Soto, Amy E. West, Guadalupe G. Ramos, and Jennifer B. Unger, talks about many Risk factors that might get Native Americans hooked to substances. There were many but the ones that stood out to me were Historical Trauma, Mental Health, and Family Risk Factors. They also talked about Resisting factors that would help them stay away from substance use. Staying connected to your community is a big one because when you don’t, that could be another risk factor like losing identity. Substance use is the thing that takes you away from lots of stuff especially from the things you love. 

Soto, C.; West, A.E.; Ramos, G.G.; Unger, J.B. Substance and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 2974.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19052974

“Sustainability Of An Intervention For The Prevention of Substance Use within Native American Communities” 

The article “Sustainability Of An Intervention For The Prevention of Substance Use within Native American Communities” by John Lowe, Melessa Kelley, and Rose Wimbish-Tompkins, talks about how substance use starts with the youth. They mention factors that lead many youth to substance uses. There was a prevention program called “Through The Diamond Thresholds” that was made for Native Americans that made it a culturally centered program that in a way brings them back to their ways. They also had some prevention programs for the youth who developed early use of substances and those programs gave resistant tips to them. The whole thing they talk about is keeping these prevention programs going and what the trainees were doing in these programs. They also talk about how these things that they're doing relate to the things that Native Americans do. Helping them stay culturally connected.

Lowe, John, et al. “Sustainability of an Intervention for the Prevention of Substance Use within Native American Communities.” Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, vol. 51, Aug. 2024, pp. 287–92. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.sfis.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2024.06.013.

“Substance Use, Treatment Admissions, and Recovery Trends in Washington State Tribal Communities” 

In the article “Substance Use, Treatment Admissions, and Recovery Trends in Washington State Tribal Communities” by Sandra M. Radin, Caleb J. Banta Green, Lisa R. Thomas, Stephen H. Kutz, and Dennis M. Donovan, is an article about how the WA State Treatment Admissions invited 2 from each of the 29 federally recognized AIAN tribes to their data analysis. They were wanting to only look into methamphetamine but saw a rise in alcohol use and that became one of the main concerns they focused on. The method that they used was to also be interviewed and they even had anonymous interviews from other participants who discussed their perspective about the Substance Use concerns. When interviewing the people, they discussed some “positive trends from Substance Use/Abuse Interventions and Recovery.” Going more into detail of that they were talking about reconnection with cultural history, just like many treatments do. The interviewees mention that much progress is still needed especially with access to care for people struggling.

Radin SM, Banta-Green CJ, Thomas LR, Kutz SH, Donovan DM. Substance use, treatment admissions, and recovery trends in diverse Washington State tribal communities. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2012 Sep;38(5):511-7. doi: 10.3109/00952990.2012.694533. PMID: 22931087; PMCID: PMC3736985.

“Racial/Ethnic Differences in Psychometric Properties of Alcohol Related Behaviors in the USA” 

Different Ethnic groups deal with substance Use differently and the article “Racial/Ethnic Differences in Psychometric Properties of Alcohol Related Behaviors in the USA” by Darius B. Dawson and Elizabeth A. Klonoff, talks about just that. They are talking about a survey called the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and that’s where they get their data from. They are focusing on 4 ethnic groups which are White Americans, black/African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic/Latin boys and girls and an example of a structure they were looking at is “Number of days per month drank alcohol in the past 12 months.” They discussed how these different ethnic groups are at higher risk for certain things that white Americans aren’t and that just shows how alcohol affects people who aren’t immune to that. They talk about some of the ethnic groups with “higher levels of acculturation are associated with increased odds of lifetime alcohol use for Hispanics and Asians” which means people who struggle with identity are at higher risk for alcohol use which is a big thing in many cultures. This study showed how alcohol impacted different ethnic groups and also emphasized the importance of their cultural factors that they might have. 

Dawson, D. B., & Klonoff, E. A. (2023). Racial/Ethnic differences in psychometric properties of alcohol-related behaviors in the USA. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 10(4), 1978-1984. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01379-3

“Young people and Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco”  by Kellie Anderson

This Chater in “Young people and Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco”  by Kellie Anderson, talks about how young people in Europe start drinking at an early age and how some of the substances they use have cultural meanings, Young people in Europe have been exposed to alcohol early because of some parents and peers and they usually see it as a normal thing in Europe. Anderson mentioned the different reasons why young people choose to drink which is “wanting to belong or not to be different, boredom, pleasant taste, and a belief that alcohol makes one feel better or more sociable.” Anderson also talks about how there are many perspectives on drugs and alcohol but those perspectives have much to do with some traditions and practices of each region. Going into governments, there are fewer restrictions in Europe. In conclusion to that, Anderson says how most children will find alcohol “attractive” and that a policy should be given to the children for appropriate attitudes.

ANDERSON, K. Young People and Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco. WHO Regional Publications, European Series, No. 66. [S. l.: s. n.]. Disponível em: https://research-ebsco-com.sfis.idm.oclc.org/linkprocessor/plink?id=e78bf846-0313-37b5-a4dc-c0855ca2a5bd. Acesso em: 6 fev. 2025.

I am interested in this topic because I feel like this has always been apart of my life and it also affected my community in many ways too. My personal experience to my topic is that my dad used to be an alcoholic and he used to do drugs and that has took a big toll on my family because we actually lost him in March of 2021. My uncle too is a not very healthy person either. In the summer of 2023, I worked for an internship in Santo Domingo Pueblo and we did this event about Drug and Alcohol Awareness called “2 Smart 2 Start”. After that day I felt like I learned so much about that topic and I want to get more of that kind of information about that out there.