AMERICAN-INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE ABORIGINAL USE OF ALCOHOL IN THE UNITED-STATES

Alcohol beverages prior to White contact originated with the Mayan and the Aztec Nations and spread to the American Indians of the Southwest Surprisingly, there are a number of accounts of alcohol use among oth er American Indians and Alaska Natives. Beverages were limited to wine and beer, and included: balche, pulque, and ''haren a pitahaya'' wine s, tulpi beer and other beverages. White contact brought dramatic shif ts in the use and function of alcoholic beverages in American Indian a nd Alaska Native societies.