Summary
Originating in the American interior, the smallpox epidemic of 1837-1838 spread north along the Missouri River on the steamboat, the St. Peters. Vaccination efforts were present at this time but not uniformly administered. Efforts by physician, William Todd, at Fort Pelly largely spared the Plains and Woodland Cree. In the south and west of the province, the Assiniboine and Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) were decimated by the epidemic. The outbreak killed an estimated 17,000 people across the region.
Implications
Like all large scale epidemics, this outbreak changed the demographic landscape of the plains. The Assiniboine would never recover following this epidemic, coupled with their lack of horses to compete in the intensifying Bison trade, the Assiniboine would experience a period of decline in the nineteenth century. Following the epidemic the ethnic boundaries on the Plains became blurred. Survivors from the Cree, Saulteaux, and Assiniboine often joined together. The Plains Cree saw their territory expand in the south and west, into regions previously controlled by the Assiniboine and Niitsitapi (Blackfoot). In the east, the Saulteaux (Anishinabe) saw their territory expand into regions that they previously shared with the Assiniboine and Cree, especially the region South of the Assiniboine River.
Sub Event
Vaccination efforts protect some tribes
Resources
Date
1837-00-00