Alcohol in Iroquois Culture and Religion Before the arrival of whites, Native Americans had little or no contact with alcohol, or "fire water" . The main introduction of alcohol to Native Americans was through the fur trade. Soon after its spread among Native Americans, alcohol had various social, economic, and political ramifications. [note] To form new relationships with Native Americans and continue existing ones, the consistent distribution of alcohol was established. The early French Jesuits linked alcohol to the destruction of the North American Indians, primarily because alcohol hindered their ability to converge the Native Americans. [anthropological] Liquor was blamed for violence and disorder among tribes, however this violence was common even before alcohol due to the importance of dreams. Dreams are vital in Iroquois culture and religion and there was some emphasis on the interpretation of such dreams. Since these dreams represented the desires of the soul, the acts that take place in a dream or vision are considered sacred and must be performed in reality, usually without regard to moral consequences. With alcohol, dream states and moments of bliss are achieved. Although hard evidence is lacking, it is common to believe that the 17th century Iroquois used alcohol as a shortcut to visions and dreams. [note: messy] Through intoxication, the Iroquois gained an out-of-body experience. Unlike the Jesuits, who spent much time observing and interacting with the Iroquois, the Iroquois did not view temporary loss of consciousness as an act of impiety. By exiting the normal human physical order they would enter the spiritual order and ultimately more in touch with... middle of paper......gher. [Page] Similarly, considering the same age range, Native American women, with respect to both indicators, respectively, compared to US women, show rates of 3.4 and 12. [Page]When the numbers and details are presented clearly, it's easy to see which stereotypes are real and which are simply myths. However, it is understandable that certain false stereotypes are believed when statistics are manipulated. For example, in New Mexico, 115 alcoholic Navajos made 1,200 arrests in 18 months. [note] This fact can easily be presented as 1,200 Navajos with an alcohol problem rather than 115 Navajos with a chronic alcohol problem. The same applies to morbidity rates as a person may visit a clinic or hospital multiple times. [note] Programs for various tribes can be adapted to suit other tribes, as long as local data is not misrepresented.