Native American disease and epidemics

In pre-Columbian times, a variety of diseases existed in the Americas.[1] The limited populations and interactions between those populations (as compared to places like Europe) hampered the development of widespread, deadly diseases in the Americas. One notable disease of American origin is syphilis[2]; aside from that, most of the major epidemic diseases we are familiar with today originated in the Old World (Africa, Asia, and Europe). The American era of limited disease ended with the arrival of Europeans in the Americas and the Columbian exchange of organisms, including those that cause human diseases. European diseases and epidemics, while still present among Native American populations today, were especially influential in Native American life of the past. European diseases devastated entire tribes. In more modern times, these diseases still plague Native American populations. Current diseases and epidemics are being addressed by many different groups, both governmental and independent, through a multitude of programs.

Native American topics
  • Native American culture

Because Native American populations were not previously exposed to most diseases introduced by European colonists, populations rarely had built up individual or population immunities to those diseases. In addition, Europe's position as a crossroads between many different peoples, many of whom were separated by hundreds, if not thousands, of miles—through things like constant war spreading afflictions throughout the continent and the Silk Road bringing diseases from the East—resulted in Europeans developing immunity to a large variety of diseases. Therefore, the diseases brought by the Europeans, which had little effect on them as a population, greatly affected, and often continue to affect, Native Americans. This phenomenon is known as the virgin soil effect.

European contact
A sick Native American in the 19th century, being cared for by a medicine man.
Sixteenth-century Aztec drawings of victims of smallpox (above) and measles (below)

The arrival of Europeans also brought on the Columbian exchange. During this period European settlers brought many different technologies and lifestyles with them. Arguably, the most harmful effect of this exchange was the arrival and spread of disease.[3]

Numerous diseases were brought to the Americas, including smallpox, bubonic plague, chickenpox, cholera, the common cold, diphtheria, influenza, malaria, measles, scarlet fever, sexually transmitted diseases, typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis, and pertussis[4][5][6]. Each of these brought destruction through sweeping epidemics, involving disability, illness, and extensive deaths.[6] Arriving Europeans infected with diseases either possessed them in a dormant state, were actively infected but asymptomatic, or only had mild symptoms because Europe had been subject to a selective process by these diseases, for centuries. They therefore often-unknowingly passed the diseases to natives, where they became epidemics.[3] The trade of Native American captives and the use of commercial trade routes contributed to the spread of disease.[6]

The diseases brought by Europeans are not easily tracked, since there were numerous outbreaks and all were not equally recorded. Suzanne Austin Alchon writes that “indirect evidence suggests that some serious illness may have arrived with the 1500 colonists who accompanied Columbus's second expedition in 1493. [...] And by the end of 1494, disease and famine had claimed two-thirds of the Spanish settlers.”[7] The most destructive disease brought by Europeans was smallpox. The first well-documented smallpox epidemic happened in 1518.[3] The Lakota Indians called the disease the running face sickness.[8] Smallpox was lethal to many Native Americans, bringing sweeping epidemics and affecting the same tribes repeatedly.

Certain cultural and biological traits made Native Americans more susceptible to these diseases. Emphasis placed on visiting the sick led to the spread of disease through continual contact.[9] Native Americans first exposed to these diseases also had an approach to illness relating primarily to religious beliefs. Their societies typically believed that disease is caused by either a lack of charm use, an intrusion of an object by means of sorcery, or the free soul's absence from the body. Disease was understood to enter the body if one is not protected by the spirits, as it is a natural occurrence. Religious powers were called on to cure diseases in the practice of shamanism.[10]

Disease evolution and host–pathogen interactions may have influenced Native American disease history. Disease evolution is the result of the interaction of hosts, pathogens, and setting. One example of disease evolution is the direct biological effects of crowding that directly influence a host's susceptibility to disease. Power et al. (1998) demonstrated that, at low doses of the microbacterial pathogen, hosts are able to make an appropriate immune response and avoid tuberculosis; higher doses result in a less efficient form of vaccination. The crowding that was a result of widespread relocation and concentration of native groups by the expansion of European settlement greatly influenced the susceptibility of native people to foreign diseases.[11]

Mary Jemison, a Seneca captive, was taken in 1755 in what is now Adams County, Pennsylvania. She married a Delaware, and later chose to remain with the Seneca. In James E. Seaver's (Jemison's biographer) interview, she described her many hardships, including travels to Fort Pitt. In 1762, her seventh year of captivity, she reported the death of her first husband from "sickness".[12]

Thomas Hutchins, in his August 1762 Journal entry among the Natives at Ohio's Fort Miami, named for the Mineamie people, reports:

The 20th, The above Indians met, and the Ouiatanon Chief spoke in behalf of his and the Kickaupoo Nations as follows: '"Brother, We are very thankful to Sir William Johnson for sending you to enquire into the State of the Indians. We assure you we are Rendered very miserable at Present on Account of a Severe Sickness that has seiz'd almost all our People, many of which have died lately, and many more likely to Die. ... '"The 30th, Set out for the Lower Shawneese Town' and arriv'd 8th of September in the afternoon. I could not have a meeting with the Shawneese untill the 12th, as their People were Sick and Dying every day.[13]

The Siege of Fort Pitt took place during June and July 1763 in what is now the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The siege was a part of Pontiac's War, an effort by Native Americans to remove the British from the Ohio Country and Allegheny Plateau after they refused to honor their promises and treaties to leave voluntarily after the defeat of the French. The Native American efforts to remove the British from Fort Pitt ultimately failed. This event is best known as an early instance of biological warfare, in which the British gave items from a smallpox infirmary as gifts to Native American emissaries Turtleheart and Mamaltee with the hope of spreading the deadly disease to nearby tribes, as documented in William Trent's journal.[14][15] The effectiveness is unknown, although the method used is inefficient compared to respiratory transmission and any results of these attempts to spread the disease are difficult to differentiate from naturally occurring epidemics.[16][17]

Gershom Hicks, held captive by the Ohio Country Shawnee and Delaware between May 1763 and April 1764, reported to the 42nd Regiment Captain William Grant "that the Small pox has been very general & raging amongst the Indians since last spring and that 30 or 40 Mingoes, as many Delawares and some Shawneese Died all of the Small pox since that time, that it still continues amongst them".[18]

John McCullough, a Delaware captive since July, 1756, who was then 15 years old, wrote: "Soon after we got home to Mahoning, instead of taking me to Pittsburgh, agreeable to their promise, they set out on their Fall hunt, taking me along with them; we staid out till some time in the Winter before we returned." He continues that, on June 2, 1763,[19][20] "Shortly after the commencement of the war, they plundered a tanyard near to Pittsburgh, and carried away several horse-loads of leather"[19][21] and recalled that, beginning on July 5, 1763.[22][23] the Lenape people, under the leadership of Shamokin Daniel, "committed several depredations along the Juniata; it happened to be at a time when the smallpox was in the settlement where they were murdering, the consequence was, a number of them got infected, and some died before they got home, others shortly after; those who took it after their return, were immediately moved out of the town, and put under the care of one who had the disease before."[24][25]

Between 1837 and 1870, at least four different epidemics struck the Plains tribes.[4] When the Plains tribes began to learn of the "white man’s diseases", many intentionally avoided contact with them and their trade goods. But the lure of trade goods such as metal pots, skillets, and knives sometimes proved too strong, leading people to trade with the white newcomers anyway and inadvertently spread disease to their villages.[8]

Impact on population numbers
Graph of population decline in central Mexico caused by successive epidemics
See also: History of smallpox and Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas

Many Native American tribes experienced great depopulation, averaging 25–50% of the tribes' members lost to disease. Additionally, smaller tribes neared extinction after facing a severely destructive spread of disease.[4] A specific example was Cortés' invasion of Mexico. Before his arrival, the Mexican population is estimated to have been around 25 to 30 million. Fifty years later, the Mexican population was reduced to 3 million, mainly by infectious disease. A 2018 study by Koch, Brierley, Maslin and Lewis concluded that an estimated "55 million indigenous people died following the European conquest of the Americas beginning in 1492."[26]

Yale historian David Brion Davis describes this as "the greatest genocide in the history of man. Yet it's increasingly clear that most of the carnage had nothing to do with European barbarism. The worst of the suffering was caused not by swords or guns but by germs."[27] For example, by 1700, less than five thousand Native Americans remained in the southeastern coastal region of the United States.[6] In Florida alone, there were 700,000 Native Americans in 1520, but by 1700 the number was around 2000.[6] Historian David Stannard asserts that by "focusing almost entirely on disease ... contemporary authors increasingly have created the impression that the eradication of those tens of millions of people was inadvertent—a sad, but both inevitable and "unintended consequence" of human migration and progress," and adds that their destruction "was neither inadvertent nor inevitable," but the result of microbial pestilence and purposeful genocide working in tandem.[28] Historian Andrés Reséndez says that evidence suggests "among these human factors, slavery has emerged as a major killer" of the indigenous populations of the Caribbean between 1492 and 1550 rather than diseases such as smallpox, influenza and malaria.[29]

In summer 1639, a smallpox epidemic struck the Huron natives in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes regions. The disease had reached the Huron tribes through traders returning from Québec and remained in the region throughout the winter. When the epidemic was over, the Huron population had been reduced to roughly 9000 people, about half of what it had been before 1634.[30] The Iroquois people faced similar losses.[6]

During the 1770s, smallpox killed at least 30% of the West Coast Native Americans.[31] The smallpox epidemic of 1780–1782 brought devastation and drastic depopulation among the Plains Indians.[32] By 1832, the federal government of the United States established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans.[33]

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1839 reported on the casualties of the 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic: "No attempt has been made to count the victims, nor is it possible to reckon them in any of these tribes with accuracy; it is believed that if [the number 17,200 for the upper Missouri River Indians] was doubled, the aggregate would not be too large for those who have fallen east of the Rocky Mountains."[34]

Disease had both direct and indirect impacts on deaths. Losses from disease weakened communities. There were fewer people to hunt, plant crops, and otherwise support their society through physical means.[6] Loss of cultural knowledge transfer also impacted the population. Missing the right time to hunt or plant the crops affected the food supply, thus weakening the community and making it more vulnerable to the next epidemic.[6] The communities under such crisis were often unable to care for the disabled, elderly, or young.[6]

Some climate scientists have suggested that a severe reduction of the indigenous population in the Americas and the accompanying reduction in cultivated lands during the 16th century may have contributed to a global cooling event known as the Little Ice Age.[35][36]

The loss of the population was so high that it was partially responsible for the myth of the Americas as "virgin wilderness", as by the time significant European colonisation was underway, native populations had already been reduced by 90%, leading to settlements vanishing, forests recovering and fields abandoned, giving the impression of an untamed wilderness.[37]

Disability

Epidemics killed a large portion of people with disabilities and also created a large number of people with disabilities.[6] The material and societal realities of disability for Native American communities were tangible.[6] Scarlet fever could result in blindness or deafness, and sometimes both[6]. Smallpox epidemics led to blindness and depigmented scars. Many Native American tribes prided themselves in their appearance, and the resulting skin disfigurement of smallpox deeply affected them psychologically. Unable to cope with this condition, tribe members were said to have committed suicide.[38]

Contemporary diseases
The leading causes of death by percentage for Native Americans and Alaska Natives for 2005. Heart disease accounted for 25% of deaths, cancer 22%, accidents 19%, diabetes 7%, liver disease 6%, suicide 6%, respiratory diseases 6%, stroke 4%, homicide 3%, and influenza and pneumonia 3%.

Native Americans share many of the same health concerns as their non-Native American, United States citizen counterparts. For instance, Native Americans leading causes of death include "heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries (accidents), diabetes, and stroke". Other health concerns include "high prevalence and risk factors for mental health and suicide, obesity, substance abuse, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), teenage pregnancy, liver disease, and hepatitis." The leading causes of death for Native Americans include the following diseases: heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic liver disease / cirrhosis.[39][40] Overall, Native American life expectancy at birth (as of 2008) is 73.7 years, 4.4 years shorter than the United States average.[41]

Though many of these appear to be concerns paralleling those of non-Native Americans, some of these diseases present a much greater threat to Native Americans' well-being.[42] American Indians and Alaska Natives die at greater rates from: chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, unintentional injuries, assault/homicide, intentional self-harm/suicide, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.[43] These discrepancies in disease patterns vary significantly between diseases, but have a significant impact on the population.

The genetic composition of Native Americans and clans can have an influence on many diseases and their continuing presence. The commonly lower socioeconomic status limits the ability of many to receive adequate health care and make use of preventative measures. Also, certain behaviors that take place commonly in the Native American culture can increase risk of disease.[44] When the period of tribal termination in the 20th century occurred, post termination many tribes could no longer afford to keep their hospitals open.[45]

Native Americans have higher rates of tobacco use than white, Asian, or black communities. Native American men are about as likely to be moderate to heavy drinkers as white men, but about 5–15% more likely to be moderate to heavy drinkers than black or Asian men. Native Americans are 10% less likely to be at a healthy weight than white adults, and 30% less likely to be at a healthy weight than Asian adults. On a similar note, they have far greater rates of obesity, and were also less likely to engage in regular physical activity than white adults.[46]

Data collected by means of secondary sources such as the US Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics showed that from 1999 to 2009 Alaska Natives and Native Americans had high mortality rates to infectious diseases when compared to the mortality rate of white Americans. Alaska natives from the age groups 0–19 and 20–49 had death rates 4 to 5 times higher than compared to whites. Native Americans from the 20–49 age group in the Northern Plains were also 4 to 5 times more likely to die to infectious diseases than whites. Also found was that Native American and Alaska Natives were 13 times more likely to contract tuberculosis than whites.

Native Americans were at least twice as likely to have unmet medical needs due to cost and were much less likely to have seen a dentist within the last five years compared with white or Asian adults, putting them at risk for gingivitis and other oral diseases. As it stands, Native American/ Alaska Natives face high rates of health disparity compared to other ethnic groups.[47]

Heart disease

The leading cause of death of Native Americans is heart disease. In 2005, it claimed 2,659 Native American lives. Heart disease occurs in Native American populations at a rate 20 percent greater than all other United States races. Additionally, the demographic of Native Americans who die from heart disease is younger than other United States races, with 36% dying of heart disease before age 65.[48] The highest heart disease death rates are located primarily in South Dakota and North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.[49]

Heart disease in Native Americans is not only due to diabetic complications; the increased risk is also due to higher rates of hypertension. Native American populations have been documented as being more likely to have high blood pressure than other groups, such as white Caucasians.[50] Studies have also been conducted that associate the exposure to stress and trauma to an increased rate of heart disease. It has been documented in Native American populations that adverse childhood experiences, which are significantly more common in the Native American demographic, have a positively linear relationship with heart disease, as well an increasing influence on symptoms of heart disease.[51]

Cancer

Cancer has a documented presence among Native Americans, and the rates of certain types of cancer exceed that of the general population of the United States. For instance, Native American males were twice as likely to have liver cancer than white males in 2001–05. Women are 2.4 times as likely to contract and die from liver cancer as their white counterparts. Rates of alcoholism of Native Americans are also greater than in the general population.[52]

Stomach cancer was also 1.8 times more common in Native American males than white males, in addition to being twice as likely to be fatal. Other cancers, such as kidney cancer, are more common among Native American populations. It is important to note that overall cancer rates are lower among Native Americans compared to the white population of the United States. For cancers that are more prevalent in Native Americans than the white United States population, death rates are higher.[52]

Diabetes
The rates of death by diabetes for each race and ethnicity in the United States in 2005

Diabetes has posed a significant health risk to Native Americans. Type I diabetes is rare among Native Americans. Type II diabetes is a much more significant problem and is the type of diabetes referred to in the remainder of this section. The prevalence of diabetes began primarily in the middle of the twentieth century and has grown into an epidemic. This time frame coincides with the fact that Indians were now living on reservations. With the uprooting of Indians and their traditional way of life, and being put onto reservations, this removed not only their main source of exercise with hunting and gathering, but also the healthier food that they were used to eating.[53] About 16.3% of Native American adults have been diagnosed with diabetes.[54] Type two diabetes and the complications that follow have gone from being acute infectious diseases to chronic illnesses within Native American and Alaska Native communities. Native Americans and Alaska Natives experience high rates of end-stage renal disease, which is mainly driven by, and directly correlates with, the increase in diabetes within their communities.[55]

Native Americans are about 2.8 times more likely to have Type II diabetes than white individuals of comparable age. The rates of diabetes among Native Americans also continue to rise. During the eight-year span of 1990 to 1998, diabetes grew 65% among the Native American population. This is very significant growth, and this growth continues in the present day.[56]

The highest rates of diabetes in the world are also found among a Native American tribe. The Pima tribe of Arizona took part in a research study on diabetes which documented diabetes rates within the tribe. This study found that the Pimas had diabetes rates 13 times that of population of Rochester, Minnesota, a primarily white populace. Diabetes was documented in over one third of Pimas from ages 35–44, and in over sixty percent of those over 45 years of age.[57]

There are multiple causes for diabetes to cast such a presence on the Native American demographic:

Genetic predisposition
Native Americans with the "least genetic admixture with other groups"[56] have been found to be at a higher risk of developing diabetes. the genetic makeup of the American Indian allowed their bodies to store energy for use in times of famine. When food was plentiful, their bodies stored excess carbohydrates through an exaggerated secretion of insulin called hypersulinemia, and be able to use this stored energy when food was scarce. When feast or famine was no longer an issue, and food was always plentiful, with modern, high caloric foods, their bodies may not have been able to handle the excess fat and calories, resulting in type II diabetes.[58]
Obesity
Native Americans have a significant health problem with obesity, as they are 1.6 times more likely to be obese than a white American.;[42] Native Americans are as likely as black adults to be obese.[47] Obesity is known as a general causative factor of diabetes, which is generally caused by Food Deserts, a lack of readily available nutritious foods, in reservations.
Low birth weight
The correlation between low birth weight and increased risk of diabetes has been documented in Native American populations[56]
Diet
Changes in Native American diets have been associated with the increase in diabetes, as more high calorie and high fat foods are consumed, replacing the traditionally agriculturally driven diet.[59] As time has gone there has been a push for Native Americans to return to their traditional ways; including growing and eating traditional foods. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been a huge proponent of Native Americans returning to traditional diets. Even going as far as too make a PSA in 2013, which involved Cherokee actors discussing diabetes, and the impact diet has on their increased risk.[60] In the past several years agencies such as the IHS (part of the U.S. Public Health Svc.) & the Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention (DDTP) have offered up 19 diabetes programs, 12 control officers, and 399 grant programs such as SDPI (Special Diabetes program for Indians), aimed at educating and helping Native Americans to hopefully one day abolish diabetes for good.[61]

Mental health

Other issues that Native Americans are facing are mental health and suicide. Native Americans have the highest rate of suicide out of any ethnic group in the United States, in 2009 suicide was the leading cause of death among Native Americans and Native Alaskans between the ages of 10 and 34.[62] 75% of deaths among Native Americans and Native Alaskans over the age of 10 are due to unintentional injury, homicide, and suicide.[62] Suicide rates among Native American youths is significantly higher than the suicide rates among white youths.[62] The head of the IHS, Mary L. Smith, says that there will be a new focus on mental health issues in Native American communities, and that since there is a tremendous amount of suicide among teens on the Pine Ridge reservation they are designating it a Promise Zone and sending extra help.[63]

A British Columbia study, published in 2007, observed the correlation between Indigenous youth suicide and the use of their heritage language. It was found that language use was more highly correlated to youth suicide than six other cultural continuity factors. The study also recorded the findings between bands with higher language use and lower language use of Indigenous language. Communities with lesser language knowledge estimated 96.59 suicides per 100,000 individuals; the bands with greater language knowledge estimated 13 suicides per 100,000 people. Indigenous youth’s mental health shares a relationship with the use of Indigenous language. Through this study language revitalization is proven to have a positive impact on Indigenous youth's mental well being. [64]

Impact

The significant presence of diabetes also brings other health complications, such as end-stage renal disease.[55] Each of these are more prevalent in the Native American population.[65] Diabetes has caused premature death of Native Americans by vascular disease, especially in those diagnosed with diabetes later in life. It has been reported among the Pima Tribe to cause elevated urinary albumin excretion. Native Americans with diabetes have a significantly higher rate of heart disease than those without diabetes, and cardiovascular disease is the "leading underlying cause of death in diabetic adults" in Native Americans.[59]

Diabetes has caused nephropathy among Native Americans, leading to renal function deterioration, failure, and disease. Prior to the increase in cardiovascular disease among diabetic Native Americans, renal disease was the leading cause of death. Another complication documented in diabetic Native Americans, as well as other diabetic populations, is retinopathy.[59]

Lower extremity amputations are also higher among Native American populations with diabetes. In studies of the Pima tribes, those with diabetes were found to have much higher prevalence of periodontal disease. Additionally, those with diabetes have higher instances of bacterial and fungal infection. This is seen in statistics such as "diabetic Sioux (Lakota people) Tribes were four times as likely to have tuberculosis as those without diabetes."[59]

Prior to the 1940s diabetes was virtually unheard of, but ever since the 1960s the prevalence has been on the rise. This rise is thought to be in part due to their food history and culture. Native Americans had a diverse food history prior to colonization, but after colonization the natives were forced to live on non-traditional lands and eat government hand-outs for food. Much of this food was of low quality, meaning that here is not much nutritional content for the caloric intake and led to many Natives being malnourished.

Native Americans with diabetes have a death rate three times higher than those in the non-Native population. Diabetes can shorten a person's life by approximately 15 years.[54] As of 2012, diabetes was not the leading cause of death for Native Americans itself but contributed significantly to the top leading causes of death.[39]

The barriers for Native Americans and Alaskan Natives to receive proper health care include the isolated locations of some tribes make traveling to facilities far too difficult to travel the distance, hazardous roads, high rates of poverty, and too few staff in hospitals near reservations. Another contributing factor is that Native people generally wait longer for organ transplants than white people. Diabetes is primary cause of end-stage renal disease, and dialysis treatments and kidney transplants remain the most effective methods of treatment[55]

Alcoholism
Main article: Alcohol and Native Americans

Another significant concern in Native American health is alcoholism. From 2006 to 2010, alcohol-attributed deaths accounted for 11.7 percent of all Native American deaths, more than twice the rates of the general U.S. population. The median alcohol-attributed death rate for Native Americans (60.6 per 100,000) was twice as high as the rate for any other racial or ethnic group.[66] Alcoholism is often approached using the disease model of addiction, with biological, neurological, genetic, and environmental sources of origin.[67] This model has been challenged by research showing that Native American behavior is frequently affected by trauma resulting from domestic violence, racial discrimination, poverty, homelessness, historical trauma, disenfranchised grief, and internalized oppression.[68] Statistically, the incidence of alcohol abuse among survivors of trauma is significantly elevated, with survivors of physical, emotional and sexual abuse in childhood having the highest rates of alcohol abuse.[69][70]

However, at least one recent study refutes the belief that Native Americans drink more than white Americans. Analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2009 to 2013 revealed that Native Americans compared to whites had lower or comparable rates across the range of alcohol measures examined. The survey included responses from 171,858 whites compared to 4,201 Native Americans. The majority (59.9%) of Native Americans abstained from drinking alcohol, whereas less than half (43.1%) of the white population surveyed abstained. Approximately 14.5% of Native Americans were light/moderate-only drinkers, versus 32.7% of whites. Native American and white binge drinking (5+ drinks on an occasion 1-4 days during the past month) estimates were similar: 17.3% and 16.7%, respectively. The two populations' heavy drinking (5+ drinks on an occasion 5+ days in the past month) estimates were also similar: 8.3% and 7.5%, respectively.[71] Nonetheless, Native Americans may be more vulnerable to higher risks associated with drinking because of lack of access to health care, safe housing and clean water.

After colonial contact, white drunkenness was interpreted by whites as the misbehavior of an individual. Native drunkenness was interpreted in terms of the inferiority of a race. What emerged was a set of beliefs known as "firewater myths" that misrepresented the history, nature, sources and potential solutions to Native alcohol problems.[72][73] These myths claim that:

  • American Indians have an inborn, insatiable appetite for alcohol.[68]
  • American Indians are hypersensitive to alcohol (cannot “hold their liquor”) and are inordinately vulnerable to addiction to alcohol.
  • American Indians are inordinately prone to violence when intoxicated.
  • These very traits produced immediate, devastating effects when alcohol was introduced to Native tribes via European contact.
  • The solutions to alcohol problems in Native communities lie in resources outside these communities.

Scientific literature has debunked many of these myths by documenting the wide variability of alcohol problems across and within Native tribes and the very different response that certain individuals have to alcohol as opposed to others.[74][75]

The 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III (NESARC-III) found that 19.2% of Native Americans surveyed had had an alcohol use disorder during the previous twelve months, and 43.4% had had an alcohol use disorder at some time during their lives (compared to 14.0% and 32.6% of whites, respectively).[76] This contrasts sharply with the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, which surveyed adolescents and adults receiving treatment and found that 9.7% of Native Americans surveyed had had an alcohol use disorder during the previous twelve months (compared to 6.1% of whites).[77] An analysis of surveys conducted between 2002 and 2016 determined that 34.4% of Native American adults used alcohol in 2016 (down from 44.7% in 2002).[78]

Native American tribes with a higher level of traditional social integration and less pressure to modernize appear to have fewer alcohol-related problems. Tribes in which social interactions and family structure are disrupted by modernization and acculturative stress (i.e. young people leaving the community to find work) have higher rates of alcohol use and abuse. Native Americans living in urban areas have higher rates of alcohol use than those living in rural areas or on reservations, and more Native Americans living on reservations (where cultural cohesion tends to be stronger) abstain altogether from alcohol.[79] Alaska Natives who follow a more traditional lifestyle have reported greater happiness and less frequent alcohol use for coping with stress.[80]

HIV/AIDS

HIV and AIDS are growing concerns for the Native American population. The overall percentage of Native Americans diagnosed with either HIV or AIDS within the entire United States population is relatively small. Native American AIDS cases make up approximately 0.5% of the nation's cases, while they account for about 1.5% of the total population.[42]

Native Americans and Alaska Natives rank third in the United States in the rate of new HIV infections.[81] Native Americans, when counted with Alaskan Natives, have a 40% higher rate of AIDS than white individuals. Also, Native American and Alaskan Native women have double the rate of AIDS of white women.[42]

These statistics have multiple suggested causes:

Sexual behaviors
Previous studies of high rates of sexually transmitted diseases among Native Americans lead to the conclusion that the sexual tendencies of Native Americans lead to greater transmission[82]
Illicit drug use
The use of illicit drugs is documented to be very high among Native Americans, and not only does the involvement of individuals with illicit drugs correlate with greater rates of sexually transmitted disease, but it can facilitate the spread of diseases
Socio-economic status
Due to the poverty and lower rates of education, the risk of getting AIDS or any other sexually transmitted disease can be increased indirectly or directly
Testing and data collection
Native Americans may have limited access to testing for HIV/AIDS due to location away from certain health facilities; data collected on Native American sexually transmitted diseases may be limited for this same reason as well as for under-reporting and the Native American race being misclassified[82]
Culture and tradition
Native American culture is not always welcoming of open discussion of sexually transmitted diseases[81]

Stroke

Stroke is the sixth-leading cause of death in the Native American population. Native Americans are sixty percent more likely than white adults in the United States to have a stroke. Native American women have double the rate of stroke of white women. About 3.6% of Native American and Alaska Native men and women over 18 have a stroke.[83] The stroke death rate of Native Americans and Alaska Natives is 14 percent greater than among all races.[84]

Combating disease and epidemics

Many initiatives have been put in place to combat Native American disease and improve the overall health of this demographic. One primary example of such initiative by the government is the Indian Health Service which works "to assure that comprehensive, culturally acceptable personal and public health services are available and accessible to Native American and Alaska Native people".[85] There are many other governmental divisions and funding for health care programs relating to Native American diseases, as well as a multitude of programs administered by tribes themselves.

Legislature

Healthcare for Native Americans were provided through the Department of War (throughout the 1800s) until it became a focus of the Office of Indian Affairs in the late 1800s. It again switched government agencies in the early 1950s, going under the supervision of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's Public Health Service (PHS). In 1955, the Indian Health Service division was created, which still enacts the majority of Native American specific healthcare.[86]

The Snyder Act of 1921 (23 U.S.C. 13) was one of the first formal legislative pieces to allow healthcare to be provided to Native Americans.[86][87]

In the 1970s, more legislation began passing to expand the healthcare access for Native Americans.

Diabetes programs
Eagle books are a book series produced by the CDC to inform Native American children about healthy lifestyles to prevent diabetes.

As diabetes is one of the utmost concerns of the Native American population, many programs have been initiated to combat this disease.

Governmental programs

One such initiative has been developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Termed the "Native Diabetes Wellness Program", this program began in 2004 with the vision of an "Indian Country free of the devastation of diabetes".[88] To realize this vision, the program works with Native American communities, governmental health institutions, other divisions of the CDC, and additional outside partners. Together they develop health programs and community efforts to combat health inequalities and in turn prevent diabetes. The four main goals of the Native Diabetes Wellness Program are to promote general health in Native communities (physical activity, traditional foods), spread narratives of traditional health and survival in all aspects of life, utilize and evaluate health programs and education, and promote productive interaction with the state and federal governments.[88]

Funding for these efforts is provided by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Public Law 105-33, and the Indian Health Service. One successful aim of this program is the Eagle Books series, which are books using animals as characters to depict a healthy lifestyle that prevents diabetes, including embracing physical activity and healthy food. These books were written by Georgia Perez, who worked with the University of New Mexico's Native American Diabetes Project.[89] Other successful efforts include Diabetes Talking Circles to address diabetes and share a healthy living message and education in schools. The Native Diabetes Wellness Program also has worked with tribes to establish food programs that support the "use of traditional foods and sustainable ecological approaches"[88] to prevent diabetes.

The Indian Health Service has also worked to control the diabetes prevalence among Native Americans. The IHS National Diabetes Program was created in 1979 to combat the escalating diabetes epidemic.[90] The current head of the IHS, Mary L. Smith, Cherokee, took the position in March 2016 and had pledged to improve the IHS and focus on comprehensive health care for all the tribes and people covered by the department.[63] A sector of the service is the Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention, which "is responsible for developing, documenting, and sustaining clinical and public health efforts to treat and prevent diabetes in Native Americans and Alaska Natives".[90]

This division contains the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, as created by 1997 Congressional legislation. This program receives $150 million a year in order to work on "Community-Directed Diabetes Programs, Demonstration Projects, and strengthening the diabetes data infrastructure".[90] The Community-Directed Diabetes Programs are programs designed specifically for Native American community needs to intervene in order to prevent and treat diabetes. Demonstration Projects "use the latest scientific findings and demonstrate new approaches to address diabetes prevention and cardiovascular risk reduction".[90] Strengthening the diabetes data infrastructure is an effort to attain a greater base of health information, specifically for the IHS electronic health record.[90]

In addition to the Special Diabetes Program for Native Americans, the IHS combats diabetes with Model Diabetes Programs and the Integrated Diabetes Education Recognition Program. There are 19 Model Diabetes Programs which work to "develop effective approaches to diabetes care, provide diabetes education, and translate and develop new approaches to diabetes control".[90] The Integrated Diabetes Education Recognition Program is an IHS program that works towards high-quality diabetes education programs by utilizing a three-staged accreditation scale. Native American programs in healthcare facilities can receive accreditation and guidance to effectively educate the community concerning diabetes self-management.[90]

Tribal programs

Many tribes themselves have begun programs to address the diabetes epidemic, which can be specifically designed to address the concerns of the specific tribe. The Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone have created their diabetes program. With this program, they hope to promote healthy lifestyles with exercise and modified eating and behavior. The means of achieving these ends including "a Walking Club, 5 a Day Fruits and Vegetable, Nutrition teaching, Exercise focusing, 28 day to Diabetes Control, and Children's Cookbook".[91] Additionally, the Te-Moak tribe has constructed facilities to promote healthy lifestyles, such as a center to house the diabetes program and a park with a playground to promote active living.[91]

The Meskwaki Tribe of the Mississippi has also formed diabetes program to provide for the tribe's people. The Meskwaki Tribe facilitates their program to eliminate diabetes as a health concern through prevention and control of complications. The program has a team mentality, as community, education and clinical services are all involved as well as community organizations and members.[92]

There are many facets of this diabetes program, which include the distribution of diabetes information. This is achieved through bi-weekly articles in the Meskwaki Times educating the population about diabetes prevention and happenings in the program and additional educational materials available about diabetes topics. Other educational is spread through nutrition and diabetes classes, such as the Diabetes Prevention Intensive Lifestyle Curriculum Classes, and events like health fairs and walks. Medical care is also available. This includes bi-weekly diabetes clinics, screenings for diabetes and related health concerns and basic supplied.[92]

HIV-AIDS programs
Official seal of the National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Multiple programs exist to address the HIV and AIDS concerns for Native Americans. Within the Indian Health Service, an HIV/AIDS Principal Consultant heads an HIV/AIDS program. This program involves many different areas to address "treatment, prevention, policy, advocacy, monitoring, evaluation, and research".[93] They work through many social outputs to prevent the masses from the epidemic and enlist the help of many facilities to spread this message.[93]

The Indian Health Service also works with Minority AIDS Initiative to use funding to establish AIDS projects. This funding has been used to create testing, chronic care, and quality care initiatives as well as training and camps.[94] The Minority AIDS Initiative operates through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, under the Public Health Service Act. This is in recognition of the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on racial and ethnic minorities.[95]

There has also been a National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day held on March 20 for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, with 2009 marking its third year. This day is held to:

  1. encourage Native people to get educated and to learn more about HIV/AIDS and its impact in their community;
  2. work together to encourage testing options and HIV counseling in Native communities; and
  3. help decrease the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.[96]

This day takes place across the United States with many groups working in coordination, groups like the CDC and the National Native Capacity Building Assistance Network. By putting out press releases, displaying posters, and holding community events, these groups hope to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.[96]

Heart disease and stroke programs

The United States CDC contains a Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and collects data and specifically releases information to form policy for Native Americans. They have identified many areas in which lifestyles of Native Americans need to be changed in order to greatly decrease the prevalence of heart disease and stroke.[84] One major concern to prevent is diabetes, which directly relates to the presence of heart disease. Many general health concerns also need to be addressed, according to the CDC's observations, including moderating alcohol use, eliminating tobacco use, maintaining health body weight, regularizing physical activity, diet, and nutrition, preventing and controlling high blood cholesterol, and preventing and controlling high blood pressure.[84]

The Indian Health Service works in collaboration with the University of Arizona College of Medicine to maintain the Native American Cardiology Program. This is a program that acknowledges the changes in lifestyle and economics in the recent past which have ultimately increased the prevalence of heart attacks, coronary disease, and cardiac deaths. The Native American Cardiology Program prides itself in its cultural understanding, which allows it to tailor health care for its patients.[97]

The program has many bases but has placed an emphasis on providing care to remote, rural areas in order for more people to be cared for. The Native American Cardiology Program's telemedicine component allows for health care to be made more accessible to Native Americans. This includes interpreting medical tests, offering specialist input and providing triage over the phone. The Native American Cardiology Program also has educational programs, such as lectures on cardiovascular disease and its impact, and outreach programs.[97]

See also

General:

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