A picture is worth a thousand words, but the image on a tobacco pack can send a different message. That’s the finding of a new study published in Tobacco Control. When American Indian/Alaska Native (also referred to as Native American) respondents were shown certain cigarette packs that featured an American Indian warrior, thunderbird, or peace pipe and asked how they thought the company portrayed them, more than half thought the company’s marketing was a form of cultural misappropriation.Source:https://nativecigarettes.com/
Tobacco is a sacred medicine for some Native people, used as a ceremonial offering or given as a gift to promote physical, emotional, spiritual and community well-being. But cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death for American Indian/Alaska Native people. Despite the fact that smoking rates are lower than ever before, tobacco remains an issue in tribal communities.
Economic Impact: The Role of Native Cigarettes in Indigenous Communities
One way to reduce tobacco use is to shift from commercial cigarettes and vapor products to traditional tobacco. But how do you go about doing that? That’s the question Minnesota’s White Earth Nation is trying to answer.
Members of the tribe are growing Nicotiana rustica, a plant that’s more spindly and shorter than its lush-leafed commercial cousin N. tabacum. This indigenous variety has a history of ritual use in Native American culture, but it’s not as lucrative for the tobacco industry because its smoke is more difficult to inhale. That’s why the tribe is using it to try and reclaim traditional tobacco in their communities.
