The Meaning of Alcohol to Traditional Muscogee Creek Indians

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to learn the meaning of alcohol to the traditional Muscogee Creek Indians of eastern Oklahoma. Using Leininger's theory of culture care diversity and universality as the theoretical base, the authors conducted interviews of 24 traditional people to elicit both emic and etic meanings of alcohol. The conceptualization of alcohol as a dichotomy of power to do both good and evil emerged as the central theme. Other meanings of alcohol were explicated in relation to five social structure dimensions. The findings suggest culturally competent nursing implications for preserving, accommodating, and repatterning the meaning of alcohol.