2006年NPR美国国家公共电台十二月-Native Americans Bristle at Smoking Bans

More coming up on Day to Day from NPR News.

From NPR News, it's Day to Day. Americans are loath¹ to vote for higher taxes, except when it comes to smoking. On election days, states like Arizona and South Dakota voted for increased taxes on the sales of tobacco products. Anti-smoking ballot² initiatives passed in several states. But several semi-autonomous Indian reservations have opted³ out of these smoking bans. Wisconsin public radio's Brian Bull explains why.

At a James Will Wisconsin ranch⁴, several native Americans drum and sing to celebrate the birth of a white buffalo⁵, which they consider sacred. Azlamashelve, a Lakota from Chicago, is standing⁶ in a field, cradling a red clay pipe with a wooden stem.

"I brought my sacred pipe with me and just those medicines that go in the pipe and my heart."

Lakota tradition says white-buffalo-calf women taught that tobacco is a sacrament. Smoke from the pipe rises as an offering and prayer to the creator. Nearby, other Indians chat and puff⁷ away on cigarettes. That's a common scene that troubles Mark Caskey, wellness director for the Menomonee tribe.

"I see that once in a while about traditional, ceremonial use of tobacco and how that's really blurred⁸ today with commercial abuse of tobacco. Some native people have told me there isn't any difference."

Caskey says many Indians today smoke for leisure; so many that they are the leading group for smoking rates. Popular brands of commercial tobacco sport Indian chiefs in peace pipes on their labels. Unlike indigenous⁹ varieties, commercial tobacco's chemicals make it more potent¹⁰ and addictive¹¹. Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 33% of native American smoke, compared to 22% for whites and blacks and only 11% for Asian Americans. Caskey says many Indian smokers¹² start very young.

"I had a native American female, and her brother brought her in to help her quit smoking because she was smoking a pack a day, and spending all of her money on Marlboros at 12 years old."

Caskey is pushing tribal¹³ members to stop leisure smoking. At a health conference in Green Bay, he explains traditional tobacco uses, some of which don't require smoking.

"The phenomenon in C(name of a region) used tobacco like a bad storm would be coming and they put it down on a rock to control the spirits that caused the bad storm…"

But outside the conference room, some Indian attendees reach for their cigarettes before rejoining the health conference. Like the Flambeau tribal member Brian Jackson supports the anti-smoking effort, but says it's hard getting fellow natives to sign on.

"You find people kinda hesitate, you know, who are you to tell me stop smoking. I don't need people to tell me what is proper use and what is not."

F. Brame is a Crow Indian mother of two, who lives in Montana. She says, for her, smoking eases the doldrums of reservation life.

"Because the economy is so bad, and everything is so hard, and everyone is so stressed out, and that's a little break from all of that."

Brame says cessation programs are a tough sale in Indian country, because smoking is so ingrained in native culture. Won Choy, at the University of Kansas Medical Center, researches native Americans' smoking. He directs a culturally attuned¹⁴ program for Indian smokers.

"At 6 months, the cessation where to somewhere around 28%, comparable to the current sort of successful program that you find among other ethnic¹⁵ groups."

Choy says the trick is not to demonize tobacco, which can alienate¹⁶ Indians, but emphasize its cultural rather than recreational holidays.

For NPR News, I am Brian Bull in Medicine Wisconsin.
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sacrament
[基督教] 圣礼, (the sacrament) 基督教圣餐
doldrums
A period of stagnation¹⁷ or slump¹⁸.
经济萧条期：经济萧条或衰落期
A period of depression or unhappy listlessness.
忧郁期：没精打采的日子，消沉的日子
attune
To bring into a harmonious¹⁹ or responsive relationship:
使协调，使一致，使适合：使进入和谐或协调的关系：
an industry that is not attuned to the demands of the market.
与市场需求不协调的工业

1 loath   

adj.不愿意的；勉强的

参考例句：

• The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
• They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢，很不情愿。

2 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

3 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

4 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

8 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

10 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

11 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

12 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

13 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

14 attuned   

v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音

参考例句：

• She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
• Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人，觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句

15 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

16 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

17 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

18 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

19 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。