Cherokee Medicine Colonial Germs Sparknotes

Native Americans prospered for a long while until colonizers and Europeans began showing up, and this is no accident. In the book, Cherokee Medicine, Colonial Germs, written by Paul Kelton, he shares his view on the correctness of the virgin soil thesis. The virgin soil thesis is the belief that the indigenous tribes that resided in North America were wiped out simply by accident and to no fault of the Europeans who were showing up and colonizing in America. The thesis implies that diseases that were brought over were accidentally spread to the indigenous people and they, unfortunately, did not have the spirits on their side, have strong enough immunity to fight off the diseases, and were incapable of implementing effective measures against

Kelton uses information related to Cherokee-European trading, war with colonizers and other tribes, Cherokee’s response to illness, and Cherokee’s relation to the smallpox vaccine to show how the Cherokee tribe interacted with the colonizers and smallpox which emphasizes the problems that occurred for this tribe and other indigenous tribes that the virgin soil thesis tries to cover up. The book shares many factors that show how the Cherokee were not reduced by accident, but by purposeful intentions of the colonizers so they could take over the new territory they had stumbled upon. One factor that Kelton shares to show that the spread of smallpox was not merely accidental is the start and increase of trading between the Cherokee and the Europeans. Deer hides, slaves, and other items

The tribe took their past experiences with germs and disease outbreaks and their beliefs in the connection between the spirit world and disease to systematically deal with the presence of smallpox (81). These spiritual practices even display effects that were beneficial in stopping the spread of smallpox. One of these effects that proved beneficial in reducing the spread of smallpox within the Cherokee tribe was a practice that was common practice: social distancing. The Cherokee “counseled against traveling into disease-ridden settlements, while the smallpox ceremonies they conducted closed villages off against the outside world and helped curtail the spread of contagion” (101). Actions of quarantining the sick and reducing travel were both common practices for the Cherokee as well as a modern stance on how to prevent the spread of disease in the developed world. Kelton uses these facts to show how the Cherokee did more than idly sit by and let smallpox take over, they took a stance by using their previous knowledge while also adding new aspects to customize their actions to the new and deadly disease. The author also does a splendid job in showing that the Cherokee were open to adopting new practices in within their already established practices if they proved to be beneficial to the health and well-being of the