I was able to find this. It's kind of interesting about the situation here. Basically, a graduate student did a study on the effects of an alcohol ban on some reservations and found some surprising results.
http://www.gannett.com/go/difference/greatfalls/pages/part8/dry.html
From the article:
"In his 1976 study of seven reservations in Montana and Wyoming, Philip May found that reservations that legalized alcohol sales had:
a 28 percent lower mortality rate from cirrhosis of the liver;
47 percent fewer suicides;
18 percent fewer homicides;
and 11 percent fewer motor vehicle accidents." (End of article quote)
Granted, it's a 1976 study, but interesting nonetheless.
This topic really intrigues me. I guess I just feel it is wrong for a government to take away rights from one segment of the population that the rest of the general population is free to enjoy. It seems like a band-aid approach to solving the problem.
But you and the article that you found do make some very good points, Olivia. What works for some does not work for others - For example, it would probably be more difficult for the Aboriginal people to travel to acquire the alcohol.
Not to make light of the situation, but all of this is also making me want a drink. I am glad that alcohol is not "band" for me.