Alcohol, Hamsters, and Us by Walter Hoge walterhogebooks.com

Alaska Natives abuse alcohol at a higher rate than all ethnic groups in the U.S., mirroring those of all the Native American tribes in the lower 48 states. Even for non-native Alaskans, drinking runs deep in the state’s way of life, so for a population as vulnerable as tribal residents, the problem becomes magnified. In 2015, the Daily News-Miner wrote that Alaska is among the national leaders in per capita alcohol consumption, and with high rates of drinking come some serious consequences, such as high rates of violent crime, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and suicide, all of which have been linked to the dangerously high rate of drinking in the state.