inTOXICated: Toxicity of Drinking Culture
TW: Trauma, abuse, racism, sexual assault, violence, alcoholism & addiction
Disclaimer: This article focuses on the toxic culture surrounding drinking, mostly from my experiences and the stories I have heard from within my community. The information and experiences discussed will likely be relatable to others as toxic drinking culture is not and never has been exclusive to Indigenous peoples (e.g. normalization of stereotypical frat boys who party all the time and get incredibly reckless and/or aggressive when they drink). This article is not meant to shame or judge the individuals who behave in the ways I describe or that choose to drink in general, it is just meant to inform and present the reality of how abusive the culture around drinking alcohol can be and its devastating effects on our communities. |
We, as Indigenous peoples, have been labeled with countless inappropriate and disrespectful names and have been stereotyped to be no more than “raging or drunk Indians”. These labels and stereotypes are harmful for various reasons and their origin is typically ignored. The following article addresses these origins and encourages us to find the courage to heal by working on breaking out of these toxic cycles in consideration of ourselves and future generations within the confinements of an individual article (there’s too much to say and not enough room!).
Although ethanol, better known as the intoxicating drug in drinking alcohol, has been used by some Indigenous cultures throughout history for ceremonial purposes in certain quantities it has become one of the most efficient methods for the genocide and assimilation of Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island. Colonizers used alcohol under the guise of friendship with Indigenous peoples, particularly with fur traders, to betray them and negotiate deals that leaned in their favour. Alcohol was also used during treaty making, among the many inappropriate but effective methods, to deceive and betray many Indigenous Nations. During various processes of colonization, alcohol has become an unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with the trauma from our ancestors as well as the trauma that we continue to face today. There are cycles of abuse and addiction within many of our communities due to our unhealed trauma and dependence on alcohol, which was encouraged by colonizers to keep us compliant and dependent on the Crown. But we also have ancestral strengths, knowledge, and hope that we are attempting to reclaim so that we can heal both individually and as a collective.
I have seen how alcohol can be consumed in a responsible manner and how it can bring people together. I have also seen the evil and destruction that alcohol brings, particularly when the consumer has repressed feelings and unhealed trauma, which I will only begin to discuss. The first thing worth mentioning is peer pressure; something commonly talked about but is just as commonly dismissed. The behaviour of those around us, their relationship to us, and our relationship with ourselves (i.e. boundaries, self-love, etc.) are just a few of the factors that influence the power of peer pressure in a given situation. It’s become normal for others to pressure those who say no to drinking by calling them names and saying things like, “oh come on just have one!” Consent 101 is no means no regardless of the topic or relationship you have with that person. Further, tricking someone into drinking (e.g. saying “it’s just juice”), physically forcing someone to drink (e.g. pouring it down someone’s throat when they’re sleeping or relaxed), and using other coercive or aggressive tactics after they have gone to sleep such as shaving off their eyebrows or dragging them off their bed is not subjective humour; it’s abusive and not “okay” behaviour. These are violations of someone else’s boundaries and consent, teaching them that you have no interest in respecting them and their needs. This usually results from being taught by others around you that boundaries don’t matter and can commonly lead to the association that standing up for yourself will result in conflict and/or violence. There is also the tendency to have a crab-in-the-bucket mentality where people will attempt to sabotage and bring others down who are trying to heal and do better for themselves (e.g. when someone is trying to go sober or drink less, some people will attack them instead of supporting them). Further, the self-deprecation of not sleeping, malnutrition from not eating properly for fear it will “kill your buzz”, and using alcohol as a crutch to handle your emotions (alone or in a crowd) is harmful to all aspects of your health and has unfortunately become normalized in various communities and generations.
Alcohol is a psychotropic depressant, meaning that it slows down many important areas in our brain such as effective cognitive functioning in the prefrontal cortex (i.e. impulsivity and decision-making, emotion regulation, memory, attention, etc.) and being exposed to this, especially in chronic amounts (i.e. binge-drinking), negatively impacts development of these very important areas. Our brains are not fully developed until around age 25, which is why it is even more important to drink in moderation if at all and to not encourage the youth to drink. It’s not funny to get your children to drink and it is not an appropriate bonding activity until your children are old enough to drink responsibly. This has become a major problem in our communities, mainly due to addiction which is not discussed in depth in this article because there is so much to say about alcoholism and its own set of challenges.
Because of the very nature of alcohol, drinking tends to bring out our ignorance and harmful behaviours such as inappropriate hyper-sexuality (e.g. pulling down someone’s pants and pretending to or trying to put something up their butt as a joke - this is sexual assault! - or rape jokes), ignorant views (e.g. using derogatory or racist names), and so much more. If we are taught to bottle up and neglect our emotions, they tend to come out through anger and violence when drinking. I have seen this way too many times and it is one of the reasons I initially chose a life of complete sobriety (besides sugar and caffeine) with no intentions to even take a sip of alcohol, and to this day I never have.
The toxic culture around drinking being normalized and referred to as a baseline (e.g. “that’s just frat boys” or “that’s just the rez”) shows how unhealed and traumatized our society is. It has been so deeply ingrained in our minds that these behaviours are okay and just the way things are, but this is not true and we are capable of doing better. For us Indigenous Nations, we must acknowledge and accept that these toxic behaviours are rooted in colonialism and genocide and have been passed on through intergenerational trauma with cycles of abuse and addiction. But as I mentioned earlier we also have ancestral healing, strength, hope, knowledge, and community that we can reclaim and focus on. Let’s learn to establish, maintain, honour, and respect boundaries. Let’s rebuild our community instead of being torn apart and driven even further with the continuation of this toxic drinking culture. It’s time we start to break generational curses and heal for ourselves and generations to come.
Resources for help:
Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1 (866) 925 4419
Hope for Wellness Line: 1 (855) 242 3310
Talk 4 Healing Crisis Line: 1 (888) 200 9997
Talk 4 Healing Helpline: 1 (855) 554 4325
Good2Talk Helpline: 1 (866) 925 5454 or text GOOD2TALKON to 686868
Kids Help Phone: 1 (800) 668 6868 or text CONNECT to 686868
DoD Safe Helpline: 1 (877) 995 5247
Assaulted Women’s Helpline: 1 (866) 863 0511 / AWH TeleTYpe (TTY): 1 (866) 863 7868
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 (800) 799 7233 or text START to 88788 / NDVH TeleTYpe (TTY): 1 (800) 787 3224
Canada Suicide Prevention Service: call 1 (833) 456 4566 or text 45645 (4pm to midnight)
Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Crisis Line: (416) 408 4357
GTA Survivor Support Program: (416) 595 1716
Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape Crisis Line: (416) 597 8808
Ontario’s Drug and Alcohol Helpline: 1 (800) 565 8603
Connexontario Helpline: 1 (866) 531 2600
Some Links:
Sources:
Johnson, H. R. (2016). Firewater: How Alcohol is Killing My People (and yours). University of Regina Press.
Krasowski, S., & Wheeler, W. (2019). No Surrender: The Land Remains Indigenous. University of Regina Press.
Wallace, B. (2021, January 19). 1 year of mindful drinking taught me these 3 things about our toxic drinking culture. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/curious/1-year-of mindful-drinking-taught-me-these-3-things-about-our-toxic-drinking-culture-4aa061723e5c
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