Drinking and Sobriety among the Lakota Sioux

Beatrice Medicine was a teacher and anthropologist, who taught at the California State University at Northridge as well as over thirty universities throughout the United States and Canada. She was descended from the Sihasapa and Minneconjou bands of the Lakota Nation.

• Chapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 1 "All Indians are Drunks": A Pervasive MythChapter 3 2 Uncorking the Keg: Beginnings of Alcohol Use among American IndiansChapter 4 3 The Recent Past: Minnewakan "Magic Water"—Alcohol and the Lakota BandsChapter 5 4 A Siouan Social System: Standing Rock ReservationChapter 6 5 "Everyone Drinks!": Drinking Behavior among Contemporary Lakota (Sioux) IndiansChapter 7 6 American Indian Sobriety: An Uncharted DomainChapter 8 7 Religious Renaissance and the Control of Alcohol: The Lakota Sun DanceChapter 9 8 Siouan Sobriety Patterns: "I Was a Better Drunk Than You Were…"Chapter 10 9 "I Got Tired of Drinking. . .": Interpretations of Intents and Continuities of Siouan Sober StatesChapter 11 10 Summary and Conclusions: "There's a Lot to Drinking…"

I believe that treatment centers do not treat the whole person. They do not, for instance, tell a person that their treatment equips them with coping skills that deal with physical addiction, but cannot eliminate craving. I don't think they delve into the spiritual aspects profoundly enough even though there is a concept of a higher power in AA meetings. Bea Medicine's study will give a new and revealing perspective on American Indian alcoholism, one that will contribute immensely to the treatment of American Indians.