Differential alcohol-related mortality among American Indian tribes in Oklahoma, 1968-1978

Tribal differences in alcohol-related mortality were examined among 11 Indian tribes living in Oklahoma. Data on alcohol-related deaths from 1968 to 1978 were compiled and assigned to various tribes on the basis of population distributions by county. Results showed significant differences in alcohol-related mortality among the various tribes. Of the 267,238 total deaths in Oklahoma during the study period, 9.3% of Indian deaths were alcohol-related while only 3.2% of those among blacks and 2.4% of those among whites were classified as such. Indian males and females are far more likely to die of alcohol-related deaths than their black and white counterparts. Cheyenne-Arapaho, Comanche and Kiowa areas (located in the western++ part of the state) have higher alcohol-related deaths than Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and Pawnee areas (located in eastern Oklahoma). Indian residents of the Seminole area have the lowest percentage of deaths identified as alcohol-related. The patterns which emerge may be due to different cultural and historical factors among the Indian tribes.