Fighting Firewater Fictions : Moving Beyond the Disease Model of Alcoholism in First Nations

In Fighting Firewater Fictions , Richard W. Thatcher describes and explains the emergence and perpetuation of the 'firewater complex' - the cultural construct of an informally sanctioned, destructive, binge-drinking norm in First Nations reserve communities. The complex has reified alcoholism as an inevitability in the First Nations - an approach that has resulted in essential aspects of collective and personal responsibility being vacated in favour of therapeutic interventions assisted by social personnel of questionable expertise. This substitution has had the effect of relieving government policy-makers and reserve leadership from accountability for problematic community development strategies that have long since outgrown their support capacities. Thatcher argues that the conditions that give rise to extraordinary alcohol abuse rates in First Nations are largely traceable to the hopelessness associated with multi-generational unemployment. Fighting Firewater Fictions calls for community re-organization around a band development policy that looks beyond the reserve, and outlines a strategy that shifts the current, exclusive emphasis on the needs of alcoholics towards the neglected counselling and non-residential service needs of potential or actual binge-drinkers. This is essential reading for anybody working in, or seeking to understand, aboriginal communities that are experiencing problems with alcoholism. "In Fighting Firewater Fictions, Richard W. Thatcher describes and explains the emergence and perpetuation of the 'firewater complex' - the cultural construct of understandings and stereotypes surrounding alcoholism in First Nations reserve communities." "Alcoholism has been considered by many to be an inevitability in the First Nations. Thatcher explores how this attitude has resulted in certain aspects of collective and personal responsibility being neglected in favour of a reliance on therapeutic interventions, often of questionable merit. He argues that this situation has had the effect of relieving government policy makers and reserve leadership from accountability for problematic community development strategies that have long outgrown their usefulness." "Thatcher contends that the conditions that give rise to high alcohol abuse rates in First Nations can be traced to a large extent to feelings of hopelessness associated with multi-generational unemployment. Fighting Firewater Fictions calls for community reorganization around a band development policy that looks beyond the reserve, and outlines a strategy that involves a shift from the current emphasis on the treatment of alcoholics towards a more holistic approach, including counselling and non-residential services that address the real needs of potential or actual problem drinkers. This is essential reading for anybody working in, or seeking to understand, aboriginal communities that are experiencing problems with alcoholism."--Jacket

In Fighting Firewater Fictions, Richard W. Thatcher describes and explains the emergence and perpetuation of the 'firewater complex' – the cultural construct of an informally sanctioned, destructive, binge-drinking norm in First Nations reserve communities.

The complex has reified alcoholism as an inevitability in the First Nations – an approach that has resulted in essential aspects of collective and personal responsibility being vacated in favour of therapeutic interventions assisted by social personnel of questionable expertise. This substitution has had the effect of relieving government policy-makers and reserve leadership from accountability for problematic community development strategies that have long since outgrown their support capacities.

Thatcher argues that the conditions that give rise to extraordinary alcohol abuse rates in First Nations are largely traceable to the hopelessness associated with multi-generational unemployment. Fighting Firewater Fictions calls for community re-organization around a band development policy that looks beyond the reserve, and outlines a strategy that shifts the current, exclusive emphasis on the needs of alcoholics towards the neglected counselling and non-residential service needs of potential or actual binge-drinkers. This is essential reading for anybody working in, or seeking to understand, aboriginal communities that are experiencing problems with alcoholism.

Contents 5 1. Introduction 7 Part One: Deconstructing the Firewater Complex 21 2. 'More Dry, More Wet': Drinking as Pastime and Problem in First Nations 21 3. Alcohol Abuse: A Social Problem Inviting Various Control Strategies 34 4. Alcoholism as Pathology: The Reasoning and Allure of the Disease Perspective 67 5. Challenges to the Disease Model as an Explanation of Problem Drinking 79 6. An Unhealthy Relationship: The Profession of Medicine and Alcohol Abuse Treatment 102 7. From Myth to Reification: The Firewater Complex 120 8. Violence and the Firewater Complex 151 9. Explanations of Problem Drinking in First Nations That Fall 'Outside the Pathology Box' 161 10. The Genesis of Alcohol Abuse Norms in First Nation Reserve Communities: An Explanatory Outline 172 11. Governmental and Community Reinforcement of the Firewater Complex 200 Part Two: Rebuilding and Renovating Alcohol Prevention Strategies in First Nations 247 12. An Effective Alcohol Abuse Service System for First Nations: Philosophical Foundations 247 13. Structural Change: Targeting the 'Root System' of Problem Drinking on Reserves 271 14. Effective Prevention Programming Directly Targeting Alcohol Abuse 290 15. Principles and Issues in Direct Intervention: An Overview 310 16. Effective Therapies for Problem Drinkers and Alcohol-Dependent Clients 328 17. Conclusion 355 References 365 Index 397 Thatcher describes and explains the emergence and perpetuation of the 'firewater complex' : the cultural construct of an informally sanctioned, destructive, binge-drinking norm in First Nations reserve communities. The complex has reified alcoholism as inevitability in the First Nations, resulting in essential aspects of collective and personal responsibility being vacated in favour of therapeutic interventions assisted by social personnel of questionable expertise. This substitution also relieves government policy-makers and reserve leadership from accountability for problematic community development strategies that have long since outgrown their support capacities. Instead, Thatcher argues that alcohol abuse is not inevitable, that the conditions that give rise to it in First Nations are largely traceable to the hopelessness associated with multi-generational unemployment. He calls for community re-organization around a band development policy that looks beyond the reserve, and outlines a strategy that shifts the current, exclusive emphasis on the needs of alcoholics towards the neglected counseling and non-residential service needs of potential or actual binge-drinkers "Thatcher contends that the conditions that give rise to high alcohol abuse rates in First Nations can be traced to a large extent to feelings of hopelessness associated with multi-generational unemployment. Fighting Firewater Fictions calls for community reorganization around a band development policy that looks beyond the reserve, and outlines a strategy that involves a shift from the current emphasis on the treatment of alcoholics towards a more holistic approach, including counselling and non-residential services that address the real needs of potential or actual problem drinkers. This is essential reading for anybody working in, or seeking to understand, aboriginal communities that are experiencing problems with alcoholism."--Résumé de l'éditeur Richard W. Thatcher. Includes Bibliographical References: (p. [359]-390) And Index.