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.