The Indian Shaker Church and Alcoholics Anonymous: Revitalistic Curing Cults

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Abstract
Chronic misuse of alcohol is a major health problem among American Indians. Growing frustration with the limited success of conventional alcoholism treatment programs to either initiate or maintain sobriety among Indian clients has prompted the study of indigenous treatment responses to alcohol misuse. This paper describes how the Indian Shaker Church functions as a culture-based alcoholism intervention. The authors consider those socio-structural features the Indian Shaker Church and Alcoholics Anonymous hold in common, as well as those culture-specific features which appear to account for the Shakers'' particular success in supporting sobriety among American Indians.