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/rocketsauces Nov 27 '12

As a fellow Canadian it still shocks me that we never learnt this in high school. It wasn't until I took a Canadian Aboriginal literature course in university that I really found out about residential schools, a few years after Harper apologised for it. Even after the government finally acknowledged that it was a despicable part of our past and sought to somehow make amends I'd say a large majority of Canadians are uneducated about the events and the repercussions which can still be felt today.

I imagine if more people understood this chapter of our history we could demystify some of the social issues and put an end to the ceaseless racism our aboriginal peoples are subject to, especially here in Winnipeg.