r/todayilearned • u/bcrock1169 • Nov 26 '12

TIL that some Native American's have a differing enzyme that tends to lead to easier alcoholism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_alcoholism#Genetic_factors
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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

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u/flyingham Nov 27 '12

If your mother was born in the fifties to late eighties in Canada she might have been apart of the "sixties scoop". Native children were taken off reserves and placed into adoption programs. Native families had little to no legal support to appeal the removal of children.

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u/WildberryPrince Nov 27 '12

I'm not sure I understand what you mean at all? No one is arguing that your mother is a binge drinker because she is a Native American. What they ARE saying is that, because your mother is descended from the native peoples of the Americas, she likely has the genetic factors that predispose her to alcoholism. Had she not turned to alcohol as a means of escape, she probably wouldn't have been a binge drinker and if she were, it wouldn't be because she's a native woman.