Summary
The source of this outbreak has been traced to Mexico City and is part of a larger continental epidemic which is well known for its role in the American Revolution. Among Indigenous groups on the Plains, estimates place the mortality rates for this epidemic between 25 and 75 percent. In addition to Smallpox, communities who were infected also suffered famine and an increase in suicide. The epidemic spread into the Canadian Plains through two different strands, an eastward thrust through the Shoshone people who were located in southern Alberta and a thrust through the Missouri river valley into the Red River region.
Implications
Had two major repercussions in modern day Saskatchewan, eastern tribes (particularly the Ottawa and Ojibwa) moved westward from the Great Lakes region into the interior and in the north the Chippewa moved south in territory previously controlled by the Cree. The high mortality rates resulted in a period of massive demographic change to the the Plains. Many nations were devastated to the point where they ceased to exist or were adopted into larger nations. This is how the Plains Cree grew in size after this outbreak. The Assiniboine were hit particularly hard from this epidemic allowing the Blackfoot and Cree groups to expand into their territory.
Resources
Date
1779-00-00