An Examination of How the Introduction of Old World Diseases Affects Indigenous Communities' Relationship with Medicine

Abstract

The legacy of Old World diseases has historically been focused on emphasizing the immense depopulation of Indigenous peoples in North America. However, newer research has started utilizing interdisciplinary approaches to investigate these deadly diseases. This research paper will contribute an overview of how infectious diseases brought to North America by colonialism have altered and decimated the relationship between Indigenous communities and medicine. Using a diverse collection of interdisciplinary data including historical documentation, bioarchaeological data surrounding the biological and socio-cultural effects of colonialism, as well as ethnographic data and relevant theoretical inquiry, this investigation seeks to understand how colonialism acted as an agent of infectious disease which contributed to the implementation of colonial medicine/biomedicine. The research conducted found that the biological abscess of depopulation through genetic studies showed a loss of diversity and population size, coinciding with European arrival. Further historical investigations illustrated how colonial medicine and policies, implemented as a response to disease, resulted in a significant cultural loss. The examination of ethnographies demonstrated that modern Indigenous populations are still affected by the legacy of Old World diseases, specifically in regard to the practicing traditional medicine and current biomedical mistrust within the Indigenous community. Ultimately, this collection of data demonstrates the disruption of traditional medicine which resulted in current Indigenous communities' mistrust of modern health systems. This research is significant because it expands on the modern research being conducted to re-examine and re-frame the common interpretations of the role of disease in the colonial process. Connecting the effects of colonialism in the past to the current situation of health and medicine allows for a critical perspective to be taken on how the colonial legacy lives on in modern Indigenous peoples’ mistrust. Understanding the roots of mistrust toward our current medical system is a critical step toward reconciling Indigenous peoples’ relationship with medicine.