Introduction

   What started out as a simple question of "Why does it seem like Native Americans struggle with alcohol so much?" based on personal experiences, led me to take an interest on how alcohol effected Native American tribes post-colonization, especially during the United States expansion period.

   At the initial start of my research, I had no idea just how manipulated American Indians had been by the introduction of European alcohol by the white settlers during the early days of our nation. Thus, I came to understand that alcohol was introduced as a method of "easing tensions" during trade arrangements, leading to a higher and higher dependence on alcohol which is seemingly still very prevalent today. 

   There's a theory out in the world that Native Americans cannot process alcohol as easily as that of other races, and while I don't necessarily delve into that area, I think it is important to consider before looking at my research, which I have broken into units. Personally, as a Native Indian myself, I have seen alcohol use before my eyes amongst my family and my clan, and I can certainly draw an agreement to that assumption.

   In order for me to even consider trying to take a poke at whether or not we as a people can or cannot handle alcohol as well as other races, I knew it was important to turn to the historical data first. 

   With that being said, here is my research on the history of how alcohol was used to manipulate the Native peoples of the early U.S.