How The Native Tribes Treated Small Pox

Smallpox was one of the most devastating diseases to ever affect Native American tribes, and its arrival in the Americas—brought by European colonists—wreaked havoc on Indigenous populations who had no prior exposure or immunity. Long before understanding of viruses or germ theory, Native American tribes relied on a combination of traditional healing practices, spiritual beliefs, and communal care to respond to the disease. However, these efforts, rooted in centuries of natural medicine and ritual, were tragically unprepared for the virulence and mortality of smallpox.

When smallpox struck a tribe, the first reaction was often spiritual. Many Native peoples viewed illness as a disturbance in the balance between the individual, the community, and the natural or spiritual world. Shamans or medicine men were called upon to diagnose the cause—whether it was a breach of taboo, a curse, or the wrath of spirits. They would perform purification ceremonies, including smudging with sage, chanting, or sweat lodge rituals designed to restore harmony and drive out illness.

Physical treatments varied between regions and tribes. Herbal remedies played a central role. Tribes such as the Lakota, Cherokee, and Navajo used plant-based medicines to reduce fever, pain, or inflammation. Willow bark—rich in salicin, a natural pain reliever—was commonly used, as were teas made from roots and leaves to induce sweating or purging, both believed to cleanse the body. Clay poultices or crushed herbs might be applied to the skin to soothe smallpox sores, although this sometimes exacerbated infections.

Isolation was another instinctive response. Though not based on germ theory, many tribes recognized the contagious nature of smallpox. In some cases, the sick were moved to separate lodges, tended to by designated caregivers who often contracted the disease themselves. Entire families or bands might be abandoned when infection became widespread, not out of cruelty but desperation and fear. In other cases, the entire community would migrate in an attempt to flee the disease’s spread.

In tribes that had experienced multiple outbreaks, generational memory began to shape responses. Some groups, like the Mandan or Arikara along the Upper Missouri, constructed more detailed systems of quarantine and caregiving as outbreaks recurred in the 18th and 19th centuries. Yet even with this hard-won experience, smallpox’s mortality rate—often exceeding 50%—meant that recovery was rare and survivors were often deeply scarred.

Devastatingly, some Native peoples interpreted smallpox not as a disease but as a form of spiritual or supernatural punishment—or worse, as a sign that the world was ending. With entire lineages wiped out and social structures collapsing, some tribes turned to new spiritual movements, including messianic visions and Ghost Dance rituals, as a means of understanding the trauma.

Though Native peoples responded with resilience and deep communal care, their healing traditions could not stem the tide of a disease weaponized—intentionally or otherwise—by colonial expansion. Smallpox not only killed millions but destabilized nations, undermined resistance, and reshaped the very fabric of Native American life.

To learn more about the devastating impact of the small pox epidemic, check out the HOKC episode linked below. Brought to you by History At The OK Corral: Home Of History’s Greatest Shootouts & Showdowns!