The Great Indian Wars are over, yet the battle rages on. |
The white man came with promises of good and our ancestors believed that what was spoken was the truth. Instead, pain was brought to entire civilizations of indigenous peoples. From Europe and England they brought many diseases our forefathers had no immunity to. The silent killers such as small pox have been treated and cured. For generations one debilitating and degrading killer that was thrust upon we, the Native Americans, has hung on. “The Plague of the Red Man”, Alcoholism, has persisted and has no cure. The great wars that our people fought against the white man left many dead from the bullets of the carbine. But this silent killer, firewater, is at work even today in our daily lives. It kills our moms and dads, our sisters and brothers, our sons and daughters and US on a daily basis, without a gunshot ever being fired. A “Trail of Tears” so to speak is still being walked scores of years since it began. It has been decades since the last Indian war was fought, yet the battles still rage on in the liquor stores and bars, but this doesn’t have to be a losing battle. The Shaman, the Sweat Lodge, and Alcoholics Anonymous, “A Native Trinity” so to speak, could be the possible savior of any and all indigenous people afflicted with this malady. This is a disease that has to be fought a day at a time, sometimes an hour at a time… and at times even a minute at a time. But we can overcome this seemingly hopeless state of mind, body, and soul, and as AA puts it, a cunning, baffling, and powerful foe. This disease has to be fought just as the great Indian wars were. We have to band together. There is strength and safety in numbers. This business of sobering up is not an “I” thing, it’s a “WE” thing. We, as a band, can be successful and become a tribe of recovering, successful, and HAPPY individuals. We need to show the world and our Native Nations what we are made of. Our ancestors fought valiantly but were overcome by firepower and number of soldiers. This is a war that we, the proud Natives of North America can win with the firepower of strength, heritage, and AA. I am Native American and sober 20 years. PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW!!! |