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

Thatcher seeks to break down the "firewater complex," the cultural biases that create notions about drinking amongst the First Nations on reserve settlements in Canada. He finds these biases get in the way of addressing issues, and actually increase the likelihood of compromising the health and safety of community members. He compares these biases to the real-world situation, and examines how the "disease model" may not be correct in these populations. He advocates changing methods to meet cultural and individual needs, and proposes therapies he believes will be more effective in treating problem drinkers and the alcohol-dependent in reserve settlements. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR