page_title: Alcohol and Native Americans
section_title: Influence of Mesoamerica
hierarchical_section_title: Alcohol and Native Americans / History / Influence of Mesoamerica
caption_attribution_description: This file was uploaded with Commonist.
context_page_description: Some Native Americans in the United States have had difficulty with the use of alcohol. Among contemporary Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 11.7% of all deaths are related to alcohol. By comparison, about 5.9% of global deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption. Because of negative stereotypes and biases based on race and social class, generalizations and myths abound around the topic of American Indian alcohol abuse.
  A survey of death certificates from 2006 to 2010 showed that deaths among Native Americans due to alcohol are about four times as common as in the general U.S. population and are often due to traffic collisions and liver disease with homicide, suicide, and falls also contributing. Deaths related to alcohol among Native Americans are more common in men and among Northern Plains Indians. Alaska Natives showed the lowest incidence of alcohol-related death. Alcohol abuse by Native Americans has been shown to be associated with development of disease, including hearing and vision problems, kidney and bladder problems, head injuries, pneumonia, tuberculosis, dental problems, liver problems, and pancreatitis.
context_section_description: Pre-Columbian Native Americans in Mexico and Central America prepared over forty different alcoholic beverages from a variety of plants and plant extracts. Traditional Mayan beverages have included: 
  Balché, made from the bark of Lonchocarpus violaceus soaked in honey and water and fermented.
  Xtabentún, made from honey produced from the nectar of a species of morning glory (Turbina corymbosa).
  Coyol wine or chicha de coyol, made from the sap of coyol palms.
  Colonche, made with the fruits of Opuntia streptacantha (prickly pear).
  Tepache, made from the peel and rind of pineapples.
  Tesgüino and sotol made by the Huichol Indians from  Dasylirion wheeleri (commonly known as Desert Spoon or sotol), guavas, and corn stalks.
  Traditional drinks made from fermented corn or corn flour include tejuino, pozol, chicha or chicha de jora, and pox.
caption: Aztecs depicted in the Codex Magliabechiano (folio 85r) drinking pulque on the feast of Quecholli. In the center, the god Mixcoatl drinks from a jug using a straw. To the left, a woman vomits.
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