Although alcohol was a temporary escape, it proved to be a gateway for self-destruction. Alcoholism on reservations is rampant and contributes to increased rates of death, disease, violence, poverty, and overall despair. Alcoholism is beginning to act as the white man once had; it has begun to kill off the Native Americans slowly and painfully. It is something that is destroying the heritage of the Native American people as generation after generation cannot overcome its debilitating effect.
Alcoholism is defined by Lab Tests Online "as a condition resulting from excessive drinking of beverages that contain alcohol-. Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disease that includes the following four symptoms: physical dependence "withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking; tolerance--the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high"; craving--a strong need, or urge, to drink; and loss of control--not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun. All of these symptoms were found on the Sioux Indian reservation of Rosebud, South Dakota. Alcoholism is a very deadly disease and can cause other diseases, such as liver disease, heart disease, certain forms of cancer, pancreatitis, and nervous system disorders. .
In a study done by Thomas Weisner, it was found that Native Americans have a higher rate of alcohol consumption than all other ethnic groups or subgroups in the United States. As Weisner researched he found that the mortality rate, expressed as rate per 100,000 population, for chronic liver disease and cirrhosis nearly equals that for cerebrovascular disease and exceeds that for diabetes, or pneumonia and influenza. At 29.2 per 100,000, the rate is three times greater than that for the general United States population. Also, he found that on these reservations; for Indians ages 15 to 24 the ninth-leading cause of death are these diseases; for the Indians ages 25 to 44, they are the second leading cause of death, with a rate of 31.