As I mentioned in a recent article posted to this list, I am presently
operating the list in a mode wherein I'm encouraging people to post only
articles that announce important matters and I'm suggesting that routine
questions be posted to one of the Usenet newsgroups ("soc.culture.native"
or "alt.native"). I hope to formulate a set of guidelines on what kinds
of articles are appropriate for NATIVE-L as soon as possible. When I
have time, I'd like to ask for some help in thinking through changes to
NativeNet that I feel are now necessitated by a number of circumstances,
which I'll explain as well as possible. (One of the major factors I'm
thinking of here is the advent of the World Wide Web, which I feel we
really need to explore as a medium for doing what we've been doing via
mailing lists - which doesn't mean that the mailing lists have to go
away, but a lot of what we've been doing via the lists are, I feel,
better done via an easily-accessible archival facility, which the Web
provides quite nicely. Another of the factors is that my own time is
becoming limited, so I'll need to get more help in bringing about what
is possible for us to do together.)
I am relaying Ted's article and one or two others in this thread simply
to acknowledge the time their authors took to write them and to provide
interested parties with the information they contain. However, I would
like to avoid this kind of discussion on NATIVE-L for the time being at
least and to invite those who want to have discussions on such subjects
to consider using the NATCHAT mailing list which I operate and which is
moderated by Jay Brummett. To subscribe to that list, send a message
containing "sub natchat Your Name" to "listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu" (that's
the numeral "1" in "tamvm1") - where "Your Name" is replaced by your
first and last names (middle initial(s) optional).
I'm sorry for the length of this prefatory article - I just wanted to
make it clear that this discussion thread is now ended. If you'd like
to continue it, please do so using the NATCHAT list or by means of
personal correspondence with those who have written on this subject.
(If you do take up the subject on NATCHAT, you can refer those who want
to see how the thread began to the NATIVE-L archives accessible via
the Web archives at "http://bioc02.uthscsa.edu/~gst/nl/")
Thanks for your understanding. --Gary (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ]
The exposure of Alaskan Natives to European diseases came somewhat later
than on the East Coast, and the Alaskan period may be instructive.
Of the Dena'ina, coastal Athabascans, about 90% died from the combined
effect of Russian smallpox in the middle 1800's to Europoean influenza in
the 19 teens. These experiences were within the memory of the few surviving
Elders who were elders when the current generation were young. There is no
speculation here. This was told to me by people who saw the influenza, and
whose parents saw the smallpox.
The effect on the culture was holocaustal. For example, how does one
contract the proper clan marriage, when all of the women of marriagable age
among proper clans are dead?
I was given new appreciation for what must have occurred in New England so
many years ago, when acquaintances of certain of my ancestors gave the
diseases to acquaintances of certain other of my ancestors. In those days
there was no knowledge of the micro-organism basis of disease, and no BIA
to even inadequately provide care.
I am not a mircrobiologist, nor geneticist, nor any other sort of trained
observor; yet it seems to me the devastating results of setting European
diseases loose among Native Americans is no more proof of inferiority than
is the devastating result of loosing of mongooses among Hawaiian birds
proof of inferiority of Hawaiian birds. Likewise I do not hear of Native
Americans dying like flies of Yellow Fever, malaria, and such. It's just a
case of new influences upon old body systems.
Ted
who is netAddressed for, personal use, as: tedbrtn@cyberhighway.net
and for business use as: ciatty@cyberhighway.net