Historical Substances
Hirschfelder and Molin state “Peyote has a long history of usage among indigenous people in the growth area of the plant (and beyond), for religious and medicinal purposes” (Hirschfelder and Molin 213).
They also state it possesses "psychedelic properties, [and] contains a number of alkaloids” (213)
Chicha is a corn based alcoholic beverage. Historically it had a very low alcohol content. Orrin Lewis states that “It is traditionally offered to guests, and in some tribes it is considered a grave insult to decline a drink of chicha” (par 2). It was a social norm to drink chicha.
Europeans brought Rum and Whiskey overseas and used it in the fur trade. They would often take advantage of the indians by giving them harsh liquer. So“Alcoholism became rampant among many nations engaged in the fur trade and, with epidemics of small-pox, tuberculosis, and other diseases, ripped apart family and tribal structures” (Josephy 232).