native american disease and epidemics native american disease and epidemics although a variety of infectious diseases existed in the americas in pre-columbian times, the limited size of the populations, smaller number of domesticated animals with zoonotic diseases, and limited interactions between those populations (as compared to areas of europe and asia) hampered the transmission of communicable diseases. eurasian infections and epidemics had major effects on native american life in the colonial period and nineteenth century, especially. part of a series onnative americans in the united states history paleo-indians lithic stage archaic period in the americas formative stage classic stage post-classic stage woodland period age of discovery european colonization of the americas population history of indigenous peoples of the americas slavery slavery in the united states partus sequitur ventrem indian removal act trail of tears native american slave ownership indian territory american civil war dawes rolls cultural assimilation of native americans indian appropriations act racial integrity act indian citizenship act of 1924 indian reorganization act of 1934 jim crow laws blood quantum laws native americans and world war ii american indian boarding schools civil rights movement / native american rights fund red power movement native american rights alcohol and native americans native american temperance activists culture mississippian culture adena culture hohokam culture iroquois culture art food music pow wow dance film indigenous peoples' day literature fashion neighborhoods health tribal sovereignty wars beaver wars anglo-powhatan wars pequot war kieft's war peach tree war esopus wars king philip's war tuscarora war yamasee war dummer's war pontiac's war lord dunmore's war american revolutionary war cherokee–american wars northwest indian war war of 1812 creek war arikara war seminole wars / second seminole war osage indian war american civil war texas–indian wars (1836–1877) / comanche wars (1836–1877) / (1858)|antelope hills expedition / comanche campaign (1867–1875) / red river war (1874–1875) / buffalo hunters' war (1876–1877) cayuse war apache wars (1849–1924) / jicarilla war (1849–1855) / chiricahua wars (1860–1886) / tonto war (1871–1875) / victorio's war (1879–1880) / geronimo's war (1881–1886) / post 1887 apache wars period (1887–1924) yuma war ute wars(1850–1923) / battle at fort utah (1850) / walker war (1853–1854) / tintic war (1856) / black hawk war (1865–1872) / white river war (1879) / ute war (1887) / bluff war (1914–1915) / bluff skirmish (1921) posey war (1923) sioux wars (1854–1891) / first sioux war (1854-1856) / dakota war (1862) / colorado war (1863–1865) / powder river war (1865) / red cloud's war (1866–1868) / great sioux war (1876–1877) / northern cheyenne exodus (1878-1879) / ghost dance war (1890–1891) rogue river wars (1855–1856) yakima war (1855–1858) / puget sound war (1855–1856) / coeur d'alene war (1858) mohave war(1858–1859) navajo wars (1849–1866) paiute war(1860) yavapai wars(1861–1875) snake war (1864–1869) hualapai war (1865–1870) modoc war (1872–1873) nez perce war (1877) bannock war (1878) crow war (1887) bannock uprising (1895) yaqui uprising (1896) battle of sugar point (1898) crazy snake rebellion (1909) last massacre (1911) battle of kelley creek (1911) battle of bear valley (1918) political movements civil rights movement self-determination nationalism american indian movement (aim) red power movement occupation of alcatraz trail of broken treaties occupation of wounded knee mmiw (red handprint) religion american indian religious freedom act christianity eagle feather law mormonism traditional religions native american church sun dance longhouse religion groups national association for the advancement of colored people (naacp) native american rights fund (narf) national congress of american indians national indian youth council (niyc) women of all red nations (warn) the international indian treaty council (iitc) ethnic subdivisions black indians indigenous peoples of the americas louisiana creole languages english american english native american languages demographics neighborhoods societal statistics reservations tribal disenrollment reservation poverty geography by region great basin northeastern woodlands northwest plateau pacific northwest the great plains southeastern woodlands southwest by state alaska arizona california colorado florida hawaii iowa maryland michigan nebraska north carolina oklahoma oregon virginia wisconsin lists native americans artists actors war leaders musicians congressional politicians native american medal of honor recipients list of federally recognized tribes list of federally recognized tribes by state list of indian reservations in the united states eurasia was a crossroads among many distant, different peoples separated by hundreds, if not thousands, of miles. but repeated warfare by invading populations spread infectious disease throughout the continent, as did trade, including the silk road. for more than 1,000 years travelers brought goods and infectious diseases from the east, where some of the latter had jumped from animals to humans. as a result of chronic exposure, many infections became endemic within their societies over time, so that surviving europeans gradually developed some acquired immunity, although they were still subject to pandemics and epidemics. europeans carried such endemic diseases when they migrated and explored the new world. native americans often contracted infectious disease through trading and exploration contacts with europeans, and these were transmitted far from the sources and colonial settlements, through exclusively native american trading transactions. warfare and enslavement also contributed to disease transmission. because their populations had not been previously exposed to most of these infectious diseases, the indigenous people rarely had individual or population acquired immunity and consequently suffered very high mortality. the numerous deaths disrupted native american societies. this phenomenon is known as the virgin soil effect. european contact nineteenth-century american artist's conception of a medicine man caring for a sick american indian, from an 1857 book illustration. sixteenth-century aztec drawings of victims of smallpox (above) and measles (below) the arrival and settlement of europeans in the americas resulted in what is known as the columbian exchange. during this period european settlers brought many different technologies, animals, plants, and lifestyles with them, some of which benefited the indigenous peoples. europeans also took plants and goods back to the old world. potatoes and tomatoes from the americas became integral to european and asian cuisines, for instance. but europeans also brought new infectious diseases, including smallpox, bubonic plague, chickenpox, cholera, the common cold, diphtheria, influenza, malaria, measles, scarlet fever, sexually transmitted diseases (with the possible exception of syphilis), typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis (although a form of this infection existed in south america prior to contact), and pertussis. each of these resulted in sweeping epidemics among native americans, who had disability, illness, and a high mortality rate. the europeans infected with such diseases typically carried them in a dormant state, were actively infected but asymptomatic, or had only mild symptoms, because europe had been subject for centuries to a selective process by these diseases. the explorers and colonists often unknowingly passed the diseases to natives. the introduction of african slaves and the use of commercial trade routes contributed to the spread of disease. the infections brought by europeans are not easily tracked, since there were numerous outbreaks and all were not equally recorded. historical accounts of epidemics are often vague or contradictory in describing how victims were affected. a rash accompanied by a fever might be smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, or varicella, and many epidemics overlapped with multiple infections striking the same population at once, therefore it is often impossible to know the exact causes of mortality (although ancient dna studies can often determine the presence of certain microbes). smallpox was the disease brought by europeans that was most destructive to the native americans, both in terms of morbidity and mortality. the first well-documented smallpox epidemic in the americas began in hispaniola in late 1518 and soon spread to mexico. estimates of mortality range from one-quarter to one-half of the population of central mexico. native americans initially believed that illness primarily resulted from being out of balance, in relation to their religious beliefs. typically, native americans held that disease was caused by either a lack of magical protection, the intrusion of an object into the body by means of sorcery, or the absence of the free soul from the body. disease was understood to enter the body as a natural occurrence if a person was not protected by spirits, or less commonly as a result of malign human or supernatural intervention. for example, cherokee spiritual beliefs attribute disease to revenge imposed by animals for killing them. in some cases, disease was seen as a punishment for disregarding tribal traditions or disobeying tribal rituals. spiritual powers were called on to cure diseases through the practice of shamanism. most native american tribes also used a wide variety of medicinal plants and other substances in the treatment of disease. smallpox smallpox was lethal to many native americans, resulting in sweeping epidemics and repeatedly affecting the same tribes. after its introduction to mexico in 1519, the disease spread across south america, devastating indigenous populations in what are now colombia, peru and chile during the sixteenth century. the disease was slow to spread northward due to the sparse population of the northern mexico desert region. it was introduced to eastern north america separately by colonists arriving in 1633 to plymouth, massachusetts, and local native american communities were soon struck by the virus. it reached the mohawk nation in 1634, the lake ontario area in 1636, and the lands of other iroquois tribes by 1679. between 1613 and 1690 the iroquois tribes living in quebec suffered twenty-four epidemics, almost all of them caused by smallpox. by 1698 the virus had crossed the mississippi, causing an epidemic that nearly obliterated the quapaw indians of arkansas. the disease was often spread during war. john mccullough, a delaware captive since july 1756, who was then 15 years old, wrote that the lenape people, under the leadership of shamokin daniel, "committed several depredations along the juniata; it happened to be at a time when the smallpox was in the settlement where they were murdering, the consequence was, a number of them got infected, and some died before they got home, others shortly after; those who took it after their return, were immediately moved out of the town, and put under the care of one who had the disease before." by the mid-eighteenth century the disease was affecting populations severely enough to interrupt trade and negotiations. thomas hutchins, in his august 1762 journal entry while at ohio's fort miami, named for the mineamie people, wrote: the 20th, the above indians met, and the ouiatanon chief spoke in behalf of his and the kickaupoo nations as follows: "brother, we are very thankful to sir william johnson for sending you to enquire into the state of the indians. we assure you we are rendered very miserable at present on account of a severe sickness that has seiz'd almost all our people, many of which have died lately, and many more likely to die..." the 30th, set out for the lower shawneese town and arriv'd 8th of september in the afternoon. i could not have a meeting with the shawneese the 12th, as their people were sick and dying every day. on june 24, 1763, during the siege of fort pitt, as recorded in his journal by fur trader and militia captain william trent, dignitaries from the delaware tribe met with british officials at the fort, warned them of "great numbers of indians" coming to attack the fort, and pleaded with them to leave the fort while there was still time. the commander of the fort, simeon ecuyear, refused to abandon the fort. instead, ecuyear gave as gifts two blankets, one silk handkerchief and one piece of linen- all infected with smallpox from the fort infirmary- to the two delaware emissaries turtleheart and mamaltee, allegedly in the hope of spreading the deadly disease to nearby tribes, as attested in trent's journal. the dignitaries were met again later and they seemingly hadn't contracted smallpox. a relatively small outbreak of smallpox had begun spreading earlier that spring, with a hundred dying from it among native american tribes in the ohio valley and great lakes area through 1763 and 1764. the effectiveness of the biological warfare itself remains unknown, and the method used is inefficient compared to airborne transmission. 21st-century scientists such as v. barras and g. greub have examined such reports. they say that smallpox is spread by respiratory droplets in personal interaction, not by contact with fomites, such objects as were described by trent. the results of such attempts to spread the disease through objects are difficult to differentiate from naturally occurring epidemics. gershom hicks, held captive by the ohio country shawnee