The "drunken Indian" has been the subject of lurid histories, pulp novels, Hollywood movies, government programs, scientific studies and social surveys.
Indeed, many so-called experts have sought to explain the phenomenon of alcoholism among native people with a mixture of fact, theory, opinion, myth and prejudice - while native voices have remained, until now, hauntingly silent.
Brian Maracle spent three years gathering and editing testimony from hundreds of native people in Canada and the United States. Men and women, young and old, reserve residents and city dwellers - together, these voices tell a powerful, disturbing, yet ultimately uplifting tale about the impact of alcohol on native lives and cultures. For while native people have been literally devastated by the introduction of alcohol to North America, a resurgence of traditional spirituality is healing their wounds and making them stronger.
With commentary that is both compelling and insightful, Crazywater guides the reader through the stories of boozers, pill-poppers, paint sniffers, cokeheads and junkies. It also tells the profoundly hopeful stories of those who have struggled to overcome addiction and succeeded - former drug dealers, hookers and con artists who are now writers, ranchers, counsellors and cooks. Despite wide differences in individual backgrounds and circums stances, the voices in this collection touch each ase of us with their brutal honesty, poignant emotic and startling courage.
Crazywater is must reading for anyone who cares about the history - and the future - of native people in North America.