Cherokee Medicine, Colonial Germs: An Indigenous Nation's Fight against Smallpox, 1518–1824 (Volume 11) (New Directions in Native American Studies Series)

Synopsis

In Cherokee Medicine, Colonial Germs Kelton Challenges The Virgin Soil Thesis, Or The Widely Held Belief That Natives' Lack Of Immunities And Their Inept Healers Were Responsible For Their Downfall. Eschewing The Metaphors And Hyperbole Routinely Associated With The Impact Of Smallpox, He Firmly Shifts The Focus To The Root Cause Of Indigenous Suffering And Depopulation--colonialism Writ Large; Not Disease.