Alcoholism is one of the most significant social problems in our country today and has many negative aspects, the most serious being the death caused by this disease. Alcohol and alcoholism have been part of societies for centuries. This habit was brought to the new world when the first settlers landed on the shores of what would become America. Additionally, by bringing alcohol to this new land, an entire nation of American Indians was introduced to a product that affected them more negatively than any other to date and continues to suffer today and probably in the future. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is located in the southwest corner of South Dakota, bordering Nebraska. Pine Ridge is home to the native Oglala Sioux Indians and is the second largest reservation in the United States. Pine Ridge was founded in 1889, but not by the residents who would become members of the community; instead, this community was created by our government and today suffers from one of the greatest social problems in our country, alcoholism. This community shows evidence of the negative aspects of alcohol and alcoholism, and how they affect their community. (Schwartz, 2006) When viewing alcoholism as a social problem, we must recognize that alcoholism tends to follow certain economic and ethnic groups, and furthermore, it tends to be hereditary. There are genetic factors related to who is more likely to become an alcoholic. As Bethany Winkel stated in her article Alcoholism Among Native Americans (2010) “Some ethnic groups suffer from alcoholism on a broader level. Native Americans are one such group. Their rate of alcoholism is much higher than the rest of the population. » Alcoholism affects eight o...... middle of paper ...... Retrieved September 7, 2011 from http://addiction.lovetoknow.comKibbey, H. (nd). Genetic influences on alcohol consumption and alcoholism. In Indian Education. Retrieved September 7, 2011 from http://www.indiana.edu/~rcapub/v17n3/p18.html Winkel, B. (2010). Alcholism among Native Americans. In the processing solutions network. Retrieved September 7, 2011 from http://www.treatmentsolutionsnetwork.comMiller, Y. (2011). Alcoholism: the physical and social effectsJones-Saumty, D., Hochhaus, L., Dru, R. and Zeiner, A. (1983). Psychological factors in familial alcoholism among American Indians and Caucasians. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 39(5), 783-790. Retrieved October 15, 2011, from Academic Search Complete database. Schwartz, S. (2006) The arrogance of ignorance: hidden, out of sight and out of mind. Retrieved November 18, 2011 from http://nativevillage.org