Southwest+Diseases

Southwest Diseases and Genocide

=
The Navajo are a Southwest tribe that are not only very well known to non-Indians, but also considered very adaptable. For example, during the 1860's, the United States government sought out the Navajo and aimed to destroy the entire tribe. During this time, soldiers herded the Navajo to a distant fort in an effort to remove them from their homeland. This walk came to be known as the "Long Walk." Many Navajo men, women and children were killed during this time. Those who were not killed were held captive for five years and finally released. Surprisingly, the Navajo built up their tribe after their release and thrived as a people. It is important to note the Navajo tribe's astonishing perseverance through the United States' attempt at genocide. =====

=
The Southwest Hopi Tribe was hit with a smallpox epidemic in 1781, which was unfortunate because the tribe was just beginning to rebuild their villages after a series of good crop harvests. =====

In 1843, white trappers raided Hopi villages and killed about fifteen Hopi natives.
__Spanish Expeditions__ During the early and middle 1500's, Spanish missionaries and soldiers were on a conquest to find a New World. They had heard rumors of "golden cities" that were located in North America. Although these cities were never discovered by Spanish soldiers, many Southwest Indian lives were cost in the conquest. During the years of 1540-1542, Spain led a large expedition of soldiers, indigenous laborers, missionaries and pack animals into Pueblo territory. During this time, about 200 Pueblo Indians were killed; many of them were burned at the stake. Those who survived left their homeland in fear for their lives.

A few decades later in 1598, a Spanish leader by the name of Juan de Onate took on a conquest for a Spanish occupation in Southwest Indian territory. When the Acoma Pueblo Indians resisted this occupation, many Indian lives were lost. The Spanish punished the 80 Indian survivors by amputating men's feet, sending women and adolescents into slavery, and sending young children to the missions.

References:

"Southwest Indian." //Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition//. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. .   Oswalt, Wendell H. // This Land Was Theirs, A Study Of Native North Americans //. 9th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, USA, 2008. Print