Smallpox Destroyed the Lives of the Native Americans
Smallpox Destroyed the Lives of the Native Americans By Regina
Ball
A drawing of a Native American hunting a buffalo before smallpox
killed off the elderly Native Americans that would teach the
younger ones to hunt.Lewy Guenter. Were American Indians the
Victims of Genocide? History News Network. September 2004. Accessed
April 12, 2015. http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/7302.
Native Americans Were not Prepared for Smallpox1. Native
Americans depended on natural remedies and regarded sickness as a
result of supernatural forces2. The Europeans did not help the
afflicted Native Americans until many tribes had been
exterminated.3. Native Americans had never encountered smallpox
prior to exposure thus they had no immunity.
Native American Sweat lodge used to rid The Native Americans of
negative energy."The Native American Sweatlodge, A Spiritual
Tradition." The Native American Sweatlodge, A Spiritual Tradition.
Accessed April 12, 2015.
http://www.barefootsworld.net/sweatlodge.html
Smallpox Terminated Tribes 1. There were no cures for smallpox
.2. Extremely contagious and could not be contained.
These circle graphs demonstrate how detrimental smallpox was to
the Native American population in the 1800s."Chapter4 - Four
Directions of Native American History." Four Directions of Native
American History. Accessed April 12, 2015.
http://www.fourdir.com/chapter_4_native_american_history.htm
Smallpox Stole the Independence of the Native Americans1.
Smallpox made the remaining Native American tribes completely
dependent on the fur trade with the Americans. 2. Many tribes, such
as the Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa, had to merge in order to
survive.
Museum Collection, 1911: Buffalo Robe. 2006. Arts of the
Americans, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. Accessed April 12, 2015.
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/130400/Buffalo_RobeBuffalo
robe the Native Americans created for the Americans to prevent
starvation. They created them in mass production.
ConclusionSmallpox had a negatively profound effect on the
Native Americans in the United States.They were unprepared for the
disease, smallpox decimated entire tribes, and it robbed the of
their independence and much of their culture.
Photo by Neil Howe, Courtesy of the Three Affiliated Tribes
Museum. Chief Four Bears of the Mandan. He was a friend of the
Europeans until smallpox ravaged his body and finally killed
him.
Suggested ReadingsRobertson, R. G. Rotting Face. Idaho: Caxton
Press, 2001. Print. This book is very informative as to how
smallpox damaged the lives of the Native Americans in every aspect,
such as their trading system and their population.Chardon, Francis
A. Chardons Journal at Fort Clark, 1834-1839, Edited by Annie Abel.
Nebraska: Bison Books, 1997. Print. This primary source is written
by a trading post commander and he explains how smallpox ruined the
Mandan tribe forever.Halverson, Melissa. (2007). Native American
Beliefs and Medical Treatments during the Smallpox Epidemics: An
Evolution. Archiving Early America. Accessed March 3, 2015.
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2007_summer_fall/native-americans-smallpox.htmlThis
journal article provides information regarding the treatments
Native Americans used to cure their various ailments, especially
during smallpox. The reader can see why their methods of treatment
failed.