Tribal affiliation and prevalence of alcohol problems.

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Abstract
During 1972-1975, Indians in the Creek, Seminole and Cherokee areas of eastern Oklahoma [USA] had the lowest rates of alcohol-related deaths and arrests in the state while Indians in the Cheyenne-Arapaho area in western Oklahoma had the highest. Possible explanations for the differences are cultural and historical. Many Indians in eastern Oklahoma are descendants of Indians forced by the Federal Government to move during the 1830''s from the southeastern USA to Oklahoma. These Indians were skilled farmers and businessmen, having well-organized tribes emphasizing communal religious ceremonies. Indians in western Okalahoma are descendants of the hunters of the plains who were forced to abandon many hunting and gathering traditions after the slaughter of the buffalo. These Indians, compared with ancestors of the Indians now in eastern Oklahoma, had loose tribal organization and religious traditions emphasizing individual efforts to communicate with the supernatural. Tribes that emphasized communal values and developed political and social controls to regulate alcohol use now have fewer alcohol problems.

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