Tom Swanky

The Smallpox War in Nuxalk Territory Tom Swanky

This book documents the role played by intentional smallpox spreading during 1862 as the Colony of British Columbia, now part of Canada, took control of Nuxalk territory. In 2014, B. C.'s Premier acknowledged for the official record that settlers had spread smallpox intentionally among the neighboring Tsilhqot'in. This book shows that most of those same settlers also targeted the Nuxalk. In this artificial catastrophe, several thousand Nuxalk, perhaps 70 percent of their entire number, died within nine months. Based on the evidence of eyewitnesses and survivors, Nuxalk and Tsilhqot'in Elders have always taught that this was not a natural disaster or the work of only a few rogue settlers but an instance of genocide. ""The Smallpox War in Nuxalk Territory"" details the evidence available from the written record that tends to support the Elders' teaching.