Native Americans did have alcohol. They fermented it from corn and it was called tiswin, but it was not a potent as the liquors that the whites brought.
What Alcoholic Beverages Did Native Americans Drink?
Before the White man came to the America's, liquor was unknown to the Natives here. The devastating affect that Alcohol caused among the Native Americans was partially due to that fact. Having never consumed alcohol in their culture, they had no defense to it, and were more likely to become alcoholics. Native Americans drank Cocoa which was highly prized and found mostly in middle America. They used herbs and tobacco to cleanse, purify and treat them for illnesses. Hallucinogenics were used in Religious Rituals, but there was no Alcohol until Europeans settled the lands...*p
