1836–40: Smallpox, whooping cough strike the Great Plains

A smallpox epidemic spreads through Native communities in the West, killing 10,000 people in the Northern Plains alone. Tribes affected include Siksika (Blackfoot), Kanai (Blood), Chaticks Si Chaticks (Pawnee), Nakoda (Assiniboine), Numakiki (Mandan), Sahnish (Arikara), and Dakota, among many others. Whooping cough kills many young children and toddlers. Plains Indians record these diseases in their winter counts, which are visual calendars of drawings that record the most significant events of each winter (or year).

Theme

Epidemics

Region

Great Plains