The Path of Handsome Lake: A Model of Recovery for Native People

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This group of essays is written to provide a series of suggestions to Native people who seek to deal with alcoholism from the perspective of their unique heritages and with an understanding that the pressures to which Native traditions and societies have been subjected may trigger dysfunctional behavior, such as excessive drinking. In doing so, I link the work, life, and example of Handsome Lake, an Iroquois leader of the 18th/early 19th century to strategies of recovery that are geared towards contemporary Native people. The goal is to provide a useful set of tools and perspectives regarding Native people and their dysfunctional behavior, such as alcoholism. This section concludes with discussions of how the method can be used in both therapy and in self-help groups. I present this book as one way in which Native people may be able to embrace their cultural heritage as they seek to recover from alcoholism. Inspired by the example and teachings of Handsome Lake, I have updated his perspectives and explained them in terms of modern sociological and psychological theories. By doing so, a strategy of recovery for Native people living in the 21th century is offered.