While tribes on the upper Missouri were no strangers to smallpox prior
to the Lewis and Clark expedition, the 1837 outbreak proved to be particularly
devastating. The Mandan were nearly totally wiped out by the disease,
and considerable numbers of Hidatsa were similarly affected. Besides the
obvious social and cultural ramifications, the disease caused the Mandan,
Arikara, and Hidatsa to combine forces for survival when they established
Like-a-Fish-Hook village. The 1837 event proved so catastrophic that the
Mandan and Hidatsa never again had as great a role among northern plains
tribes. In addition to that, the advent of the reservation and allotment
system was less than a generation away and it would wreak its own brand
of havoc on Native Peoples.
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phone: 701.328.2666
email: history@nd.gov
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