Ever watched Pocahontas or “The Lone Ranger,” featuring Native American sidekick Tonto (Johnny Depp)? Have you ever considered whether these movies are accurately portraying Native Americans? Very often, the media uses stereotypes to create characters in their movies or TV shows. The most common of all, “All Natives are drunks.”
The high incidence of alcoholism amongst Native Americans has led many people over the years to believe that this problem is innate or genetic in the Native American population. Maia Szalavitz’s article on the Verge.com about Native Americans however, uses logic to disprove this myth. In addition, Sherman Alexie’s short story, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” provides a human description of the causes and effects of alcoholism amongst Native Americans. His story shows that the addiction is caused by dislocation, loneliness, stress, and hopelessness rather than genetics.
Someone who is severely affected by traumas is more prone to alcoholism. As Maia Szalavitz wrote in her article, “The link between trauma and addiction is not in dispute — and the earlier the trauma, the worse the risk of addiction becomes. Whether it’s losing a parent young, being emotionally, physically, or sexually violated, experiencing a natural or man-made disaster or witnessing violence, the risks add up” (Szalavitz). In “What You Pawn, I Will Redeem,” the main character Jackson experiences trauma as early as fourteen years old when Agnes, his grandmother, died of breast cancer. Later he faces stress when his friend disappears and dies. His traumas may have caused his mental problem. “Of course, crazy is not the official definition of my mental problem, but I don’t think asocial disorder fits it, either, because that makes me sound like I’m a serial killer or something” (Alexie 28). He is aware of his debilitating traumas and it continues to affect him during his adulthood.
Jackson’s stress and challenges continue into his adulthood. He is homeless, living on the streets of Seattle. Moreover, he not only is experiencing physical homelessness, but probably also feels culturally secluded as a Spokane Indian. Jackson, like all Native Americans, has undergone a history of dispossession, forced removal, and lost lands. In this way, Jackson's homelessness resonates throughout the story. It represents not only his material state, but his psychological state as well. When Jackson sees his grandmother’s regalia from the window of the pawn shop, he feels a sense of loss in his culture and family. He becomes inspired to try to save enough money to buy back the regalia and thereby reclaim his family’s heritage. Saving this amount of money however proves to be extremely challenging. He has limited savings and income, and even after he earns some money, he spends every penny on short term gratification including alcohol. This leaves him in a frustrated and stressed cycle, and further worsens his situation.
A low socioeconomic status and unemployment leads to a higher risk of alcoholism. Among Native Americans, school completion rates are low, unemployment rates are high, and basic support systems are underdeveloped. These conditions place a great deal of stress on their communities and families. As a result, the basic developmental needs of Indian children often go unmet. This also explains why Jackson doesn’t know how to spend his money wisely as he was never taught how to. To the extent that this type of social stress predisposes a population to alcohol abuse, American Indian communities are highly susceptible.
Both Maia Szalavitz’s article and Sherman Alexie’s story demonstrate that Jackson, and other Native Americans weren’t predisposed to alcoholism. Jackson turned to it because of external and internal stresses, low socioeconomic status, and probably the sense of helplessness to get out of his situation. So if we want to prevent alcohol addiction and aid recovery, we need to focus more on revitalizing their culture and society, and strive to reduce stress and poverty amongst the Native American population.
So the next time you see a Native American, or a depiction of a Native American pop up in a magazine or in the media, don’t assume that all Native Americans drink that excessively, or constantly wear feather headdresses. 
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