Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life

by James Daschuk, Elizabeth A. Fenn (Foreword)

In arresting, but harrowing, prose, James Daschuk examines the roles that Old World diseases, climate, and, most disturbingly, Canadian politics—the politics of ethnocide—played in the deaths and subjugation of thousands of aboriginal people in the realization of Sir John A. Macdonald’s “National Dream.”

It was a dream that came at great expense: the present disparity in health and economic well-being between First Nations and non-Native populations, and the lingering racism and misunderstanding that permeates the national consciousness to this day.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Indigenous, Canada, Politics, Native American, Indigenous History

340 pages, Hardcover

First published April 3, 2013

Reviews

[Johnny D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was infuriated by this book.

Infuriated that I managed to make my way all the way through an honours history degree in Canada and still only have a tentative idea of the extent of the Canadian government's explicit role in the subjugation and genocide of Canadian First Nations. All those hours my school teachers spent on talking about the importance of the railway to Confederation, and not one peep was given to this harrowing story. When we were told of any mistreatment of natives, it was always in contrast to the Americans. I wish I had done more to explore this area of Canadian history myself.

I felt a stinging shame reading this book, I felt the infuriation of having been lied to by omission, and I felt a deeper understanding of Canada's need to take responsibility for our dark history.

Every Canadian should read this book. At the very least, the information should be adopted as part of our curriculum. The myths we have built of our own history need to be overturned if we ever truly desire justice and reconciliation. I strongly believe that we cannot move forward as a nation until we acknowledge our duty to honour the treaties we have broken and the peoples we have oppressed.

[Kimberley Fyfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single Canadian should read this well written and incredibly researched book on the history of our country. Too many extreme actions and uninformed, ignorant decisions resulted in devastating effects on aboriginal life and culture. To know the past will help to grow the future and will develop the understanding and empathy necessary for a healthy country for us all.

[Nick Popull · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first chapter is pretty heavily academic, but once you get into the book, it really is quite an eye opener into just how the settlement of Canada really was at the expense of the Aboriginals. Really, the title says it all. I only wish that the book didn't basically end in the 1880's.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book. Seriously everyone. I’m buying a stack of copies to give as birthday gifts for the next year. So well researched and written. Even if you know a lot, this book will teach you more about the devastating impact of colonialism on different Indigenous peoples covering so called Canada (Turtle Island) over the last 400 years. Essential reading.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes to the history of the settlement of the prairies in very important ways.

It is a history that looks at colonization and the impacts on Indigenous nations through the lens of health and climate. It contains a significant amount of detail about the interactions of different nations prior to contact and how those interactions led to territorial distribution over time.

The history of the interaction between fur traders and trappers and how those interactions led to the transmission of disease to different communities at different times is fascinating and heart-breaking. It sheds light on how disease, acquired immunity, and eventually vaccinations played significant roles in who survived and how different groups dealt with new realities of reduced populations and the need to support those who were left behind.

The most damning section of the book deals with the period of the treaty signing when buffalo were becoming hunted to near-extinction and Indigenous nations began to starve. The MacDonald Government and their agents on the prairies used starvation as a tool to move communities off of their land an on to reservations to make room for settlement by Europeans. Daschuk's detail in the documentation of this process leaves no doubt in my mind that it was genocidal.

What many historians of the settlement of the prairies have said is that, although this book does not document a great deal of new information, it brings it together in one place a detailed and readable way that has introduced this history to a more mainstream audience and, in doing so, has shifted the way that many people view how the prairies were settled.

I think that this should be required reading in our school system. My only concern is that it is written for an audience with post-secondary education. If this history could be written for younger people in a similar way that Zinn's "People's History of the United States" was, the reach and impact of the book could become even greater and this history really deserves a larger audience.

[Lauren Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the tone is slightly too academic for the casual reader, the content is so important I hope it will become a standard text in Canadian schools. That this book needed to be written is a shame -- we should have known about the genocidal horrors, but most Canadians didn't, and still don't, or deny them.

Reading this will, if you have any sense of humanity, outrage and disgust you. This is as it should be. Such reactions lead to change, long overdue change.

[Big Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

ESSENTIAL reading for anyone interested in Canadian history (the kind that you didn't learn in school). This is heavy reading in subject matter and style, but so important

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this book is a mixed bag. Let's talk about pros: the topic of this book is very important, and helps illuminate the rift between First Nations and basically the rest of Canada. Apparently it was very thoroughly researched. There is a lot of material in this book that needs to be migrated over to Social Studies curricula across the country. I would guess that the vast majority of Canadians are unaware of the dark underbelly of Canadian history that does not make it into Heritage Minutes or children's books about voyageurs.

Cons: the writing is "academic" or in common parlance, "a real slog" -- I suppose this should not be a surprise and the introduction lets us know the project started as a doctoral dissertation. The organization could have been better -- there could have been a LOT more explanatory notes, maybe an appendix of First Nations groups, timelines, etc. to help a reader along. Another beef: the author put a lot of excerpts into quotes that were not especially quotable, and maybe a heavier hand with the editing would have helped. For example, the word "ensconced" appears about once a page (I'm estimating here) in the first few chapters. The best thing about this book is seriously the concluding chapter, when the author actually pulls it out of the hat. I don't know if the writing just gets sharper in the last chapter, or if my assessment of the writing was infected by the jubilation of having finally reached the end. The last chapter gets four stars.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and important story, but writing is too dry and academic.

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

An academically-inclined history of interactions between indigenous peoples and European settlers/the early dominion, from contact to the turn of the 20th century. Contrary to what the title, reviews, and the fallout of its publication would suggest, this is not really a focused look at the actions of the Macdonald government as they concern indigenous populations. Instead, it takes the long view, with a focus on epidemiology. Macdonald himself only appears in the last 60 pages or so, and then only occasionally; on top of that, given prevailing sentiments of the era the grounds for the campaign of vilification against him that this book ignited (with support from Daschuk himself) seem weak to me. I hate to use that hackneyed phrase "a man of his time", but it seems to apply here. Some of the Macdonald-approved relief cuts even came about to mollify critics among his liberal opponents, who were actually arguing that the government was spending too much. Still, there is no doubt his record is a negative one on this file, and to the extent that Daschuk adds to our understanding of that important person here it is to be appreciated.

Anyways, the real story here is the devastation wrought by the combination of disease and resource depletion described at length in the first half of the book. For centuries, indigenous peoples and European traders partnered more or less amicably, even as Old World diseased decimated indigenous populations. Unfortunately, as commercial incentives caused white and indigenous trapper alike to badly deplete fur and game stocks, collapse was practically inevitable - particularly as Europeans started to arrive in larger numbers. With the loss of the fur trade as a basis for partnership, white concern for indigenous welfare went with it. As such, the new Canadian government was miserly in their efforts to relieve widespread starvation wrought by the catastrophe of the destruction of the buffalo herds. This approach was stiffened still further by contemporary notions that relief would somehow make the recipient unwilling to provide for themselves. Worse still (and here is where Macdonald especially gets roped in), when the National Policy required space on the plains to be pushed through, the Canadian government was remorseless in withholding aid to move starving indigenous people onto reserves, out of the way. The result was general suffering and a tuberculosis epidemic that was greatly intensified by malnutrition. The Canadian government may not have created the basic conditions for starvation (though in certain cases they did make it harder to even subsist), but they certainly failed in their duty to live up to treaty obligations and fiduciary duties to look after people who truly needed their help. Unsavoury stuff.

In saying all of this, I can't say I loved the book, though some of the reasons are specific to me. I was broadly familiar with the basic trends from undergraduate coursework a few years back, plus additional reading, and while I appreciate the importance of the subject, it did get a bit repetitive by the end. This was particularly so when coupled with a very academic tone. Also, the book is a little bit of a victim of its own success. The basic outline has become so well known in the country that it's lost a bit of its shock value, especially if the reader has any familiarity with other historical accounts of famine and/or disease, or even just the atrocity that was the residential school system. There is also a whiff of presentism bias in some of the analysis and conclusions, which always irritates me. BUT it is still an excellent book both to fill in the gaps left by traditional Canadian historiography and to increase appreciation of the many legitimate grievances of present-day indigenous peoples.

3/5

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

An important topic; thoroughly covered but in language inaccessible to the 99%. The author focuses on the spread of disease while relating its spread with famine, poverty, and political dissent in the North American context. Some very obvious conclusions could be drawn which would improve quality of life not only among the First Nations People but in all subjugated peoples world-wide. Unfortunately the text is far too scholarly to make any impact in today's world, outside academia.

"Identification of the forces that have held indigenous communities back might provide insights into what is required to bridge the gap between First Nations communities and the rest of Canada today."

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter, but not as explosive and revelatory as some reviewers contend. The book is poorly written and somewhat repetitive. Historical figures and events are referenced without being adequately introduced to the reader, which anyone without prior knowledge of the subject matter may find frustrating.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Canadian should read this.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thirty eight percent of the book dedicated to Notes and Bibliography. Title says it all.

Now this guy can write about the Dark Ages and the Roman Empire.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read. You will learn how Canada came to be and the effects on First Nations people. Canada such a great country but we could have started out better and still have work to do!

[Minosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Read this book" everyone said. "It's a must-read on how the Canadian government starved Indigenous people on the prairies!" Somebody else's review pointed out that this book's reception today is probably skewed due to now (in 2024) the overall outline of this story being pretty familiar and taken for granted, versus ten years ago when it was published to shock and awe, and I think that's probably true. It's also kind of mysterious how it got so popularly recommended when, as so many many many people have pointed out, it is very much an academic book and not really a pop history book for a general audience.

The second half of this book does indeed provide a damning and thorough look at how Canadian officials used food and health to colonize mainly First Nations people on the prairies (Metis people are discussed somewhat in the first half but mostly fall out of the story, due to not being included in treaty). Interestingly, some Indigenous scholars have argued it STILL doesn't go far enough - see for example Rob Innes's online article "Clearing the Plains of Accountability" which I actually don't entirely agree with.

What basically NO ONE mentions at any point when discussing this book is the first several chapters where Daschuk looks at Indigenous health from 1600s-1860s. While I was kind of excited because I am very interested in this period of Indigenous prairies history, I'm deeply concerned by some of the arguments, which Daschuk argues more pointedly in an academic article. One of his key points is that beaver hunting was not done by some First Nations communities and therefore the overhunting associated with the fur trade was largely perpetrated by other groups. This wouldn't be terribly notable except that he uses basically one source (a dissertation by Grace Morgan) to argue that Blackfoot and Assiniboine people who did not trap beaver (which even he admits is debatable in the Assiniboine case) are "the true Indigenous people of the northern plains" while Cree and Anishinaabe and Dakota/Lakota people are "newcomers." Briefly, while the actual meat behind this argument is interesting, it is incredibly irresponsible to apply an analysis that LITERALLY opines on some Indigenous prairie residents being "more Indigenous" than others, when most historians have long been aware that their analyses are being used against Indigenous land claims.

There's one other thing I noticed threaded throughout especially the first half, which is a weird idea that technological adaptation is inauthentic. At one point he describes the Indigenous adoption of horses as spoiling thousands of years of ecological systems. While obviously horses had a profound impact on subsistence practices, I'm troubled by juxtaposing "10,000 years of pedestrian bison hunting" with the Indigenous-led adoption of horse-mounted hunting. Jeez, if 18th century Indians aren't authentic then how do us today have any chance?

Finally, I debate mentioning this because it's a little bit of a thing like, "is it a problem with this book, or do you just wish it was a different book?" But there's very little attention to Indigenous governance throughout the book aside from roving from post to post begging for food, or maybe being considered a threat for armed violence against settlers. We get much detail on how HBC and Canadian officials reacted to epidemics and famine, but almost nothing on deliberation and measures taken by Cree, Nakoda, Blackfoot etc. leaders and people.

Still, this book, in spite of these major issues, was definitely a worthwhile read.

[Philip Girvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A staggering assessment of the horrors visited upon the North American Indians and Metis populations by pathogens, those indigenous to North America such as TB as well those carried over from Europe such as smallpox and influenza. Daschuk skillfully manages to trace ways in which human economic and political activity assisted and, in some instances, halted the march of disease.

This book provides a thorough overview of the diverse tribes living in the Great Lakes region as well as the Great Plains, their participation, or lack thereof, in the changing socio-economic climate of the Canadian West. Among other things, the book is a devastating indictment of the Canadian Government's National Policy. A must read for all Canadians as well as those interested in Canadian history. If I could give the book six stars, I would.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being only 186 pages long, this is a hard history to read. I found it incredibly hard to read, in such a matter of fact manner, clear abuse of power and the opportunistic manner the Dominion of Canada used famine to starve people into submission. In combination with the knowledge that ~100 reserves in Canada still do not have potable water in 2015, it is heart breaking to know how long these concerns have been unaddressed. I think I hate Sir John A. MacDonald now and his willful blindness of the actions of his Minister of the Department of Indian Affairs who knew full well that "the people under his care were receiving less than half the rations provided to state prisoners in Siberia" (pg. 118) and policy that "stressed that food was refused "until the Indians were on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense"" (pg. 134)

[Jessica DeWitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an environmental historian of Canada, it is quite evident that Daschuk has had a tremendous impact on both historiography and popular history. Though I was already familiar with the arguments made in Clearing the Plains and have heard him speak on the topic of the book, it took me over a decade to actually pick it up and read it, thanks to a book club that I participate in. Daschuk provides an incredibly detailed account of the role of disease and starvation in the decimation of the Indigenous population of the Canadian Great Plains, arguing effectively that "the most significant factor under human control was the failure of the Canadian government to meet its treaty obligations and its decision to use food as a means to control the [Indigenous] population to meet its developmental agenda." It is a bleak and rightly uncomfortable read, and one that in addition to illustrating a massive amount of cruelty on the part of the Canadian government, reminds us how big a role microbes have played in human history and how vulnerable we are to them if we forget and fail to respect the suffering that our ancestors experienced due to pathogens.

[Cate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to begin by saying that this is such an important subject matter, and it’s very clear that a tonne of research went into this. The fact that only 52% of this book is actual content with the rest being endnotes/bibliography/index, as well as each chapter having an average of 140 endnotes is a strong indication of that. James Daschuk is clearly a very knowledgeable and highly intelligent person. My issue with this book was that it did not come across as a book at all, rather as a doctoral thesis that had been published under the auspice of being a book (which, it turns out, is more or less what it is). Making this clearer, perhaps even describing it as such on the back cover of the book, would have created reasonable expectations for this book (although also probably would have decreased sales…). There was also a heavy reliance on the reader having an extensive knowledge of Canadian history and events going into the book, with (sometimes obscure) people and events referenced with little-to-no explanation offered. Not to say that you have to dedicate a chapter to explaining these background components, but a paragraph would have been nice.

As it stands, this wasn’t something I “enjoyed” reading (understandable, given the heavy and depressing subject matter!), however the real issue is that I really didn’t retain much of it either. I have read a fair amount of Indigenous Canadian history of late, and although I just finished reading this one, very little of it has stuck with me. I must have missed the “arresting, but harrowing, prose” that the book is described as containing. It was so dry that I would read it before bed, and would only get through 3-4 pages on an e-reader (so not even full-length pages!) before my eyes grew heavy and it was time for sleep. It took me 15 hours over the course of 48 weeks to finish this book, and I lost count of how many times I took it out of the library, because I just couldn't motivate myself to read it any faster.

My favourite part was the conclusion (and not just because it meant I was done), as it was well-written, concise, and would have made for an excellent article on its own, likely one I would have even encouraged others to read. The book as a whole, however, was incredibly lengthy and repetitive. There were certain words that are not part of common parlance and yet were used heavily throughout the book; it almost felt as though the author had recently learned this word, and then felt the need to use it every few pages to remind us that he knew it. This is yet another book that would have benefitted significantly from a strong editor.

As a personal aside, this was one of those occasions I should have judged a book by its cover, or at least its title, as I was disappointed that this book only covered the impacts of disease and politics on the Prairies. This is no fault of the author (it’s quite literally in the title), but as someone from the East Coast, I was hoping to learn more about how these things impacted the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet too, instead of exclusively those on the Prairies. Again, having so narrow a focus serves a thesis quite well, but not necessarily the general public.

Clearly I am the outlier here, as it has a pretty high rating and lots of positive reviews. It just didn’t do it for me, but if you’re someone who is highly academic, or perhaps if you’re from the Prairies, you might get a lot more out of this than I did.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Clearing the Plains, Daschuk analyzes the history of disease and starvation that plagued Aboriginal peoples on the plains upon the arrival of white people to Canada (and North America.) If I can be honest, this felt like a really repetitive read, most likely because the evidence and history Daschuk uses seems to repeat itself constantly. This does not speak to Daschuk as a writer or a historian, rather the history itself — the constant cycles of disease, like tuberculosis, that hit repeatedly the First Nations throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries; the constant “mistakes” made by the Canadian government in providing health care and food, over and over and over. It’s a frustrating read — it’s frustrating because Daschuk shows us that the Canadian colonizers seemed to bumble their way into a genocide: first by accidentally exposing millions of Indigenous people to disease they had no immunity against (naturally also blaming them for it); and then starving the survivors, sometimes to force them into submission, sometimes to cut corners on costs, and sometimes, just out of blatant stupidity. No matter what the main individual reasons appeared to be in the cases of starvation of each nation, it is absolutely certain that all of the time Canada was not motivated enough to feed the Indigenous people they had promised to in treaty to because they believed these people were not worth feeding.

I found Daschuk’s conclusions to be a little obvious, but when I read over some of the other reviews on Goodreads, I realized that to many this conclusions may not be obvious at all (I did major in Indigenous history in Canada so I have been exposed to these truths for quite some time.) For any Canadian today who thinks they have a firm grasp on the historical and contemporary situation of Canadian First Nations peoples without having read a single book about what they have survived (or have not talked to an Indigenous person about the history of their people!), please do check out Clearing the Plains.

[Vontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't yet finished the book. Must return to library before requesting it again, since it's on hold. This is an important book for all Canadians (and North Americans) to read as part of understanding the history of our countries, with origins in the author's doctoral dissertation 20 years ago. Examines impact of eco-geography on population health of mostly North American aboriginal people, both before and after contact with Europeans, including from the Spanish from central America (the routes to the equine culture, vs the foot cultures). Includes consideration of the impact of various cycles of climate change over the past 1,000 years, the entrepreneurialism of different native tribes, partly rising from the fur trade, on the different transmission rates and routes of various diseases through various populations across from east to west. Further discussion ensues about the effects of the different European and colonial (and then Canadian) government policies, actions and inactions which contribute still to systemic effects on the health of the aboriginal population, particularly those in more rural or remote areas. These effects are also seen now in many areas of urban centres, where the determinants of health such as poverty and racism continue to have and effect.

[Andrew Fehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daschuk really did justice to his topic, clearing the plains of Indigenous people, in this book. He is a thorough writer and supports every point with numerous examples. His background as an academic comes through clearly in his writing style, which is sometimes dense, and through the great number of references he cites. His writing style may be tough for some readers to get through so, despite all the praise this book has gotten, it's not going to appeal to everyone.

The book draws on examples from across the plains, mostly in Canada but some from the United States as well, and from each of the prairie provinces. Daschuk provides a comprehensive survey of the plains by drawing on examples from bands and tribes across cultural and linguistic groups.

What I really liked about this book is that Daschuk, ever a thorough writer, does not hesitate to provide lengthy context to the point he is making about disease, starvation and loss of aboriginal life. To a reader like myself, who is not just interested in Daschuk's thesis about also in this time period in general, this book is made more interesting.

I would look forward to another book written by James Daschuk.

[Grazyna Nawrocka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although very factual, this book is fascinating to read. I love language, style and presentation. The facts are grim, but I'd recommend this book to any Canadian or immigrant. It shows situation of indigenous people in broader context of politic and economic reality of the times. Here are some examples:

"In 1849, 25,000 emigrants travelled through the plains at the height of the California Gold Rush, infecting the Sioux population along the route with smallpox, measles, and cholera."
"For Niitsitapi, the threat of water contamination from drought might have been made worse by their recent abandonment of the centuries-old practice of maintaining fresh water supplies by conserving beaver stock within their territory."

"Malcolm D. Cameron , a Liberal MP, accused the Indian department of being driven by "a policy of submission shaped by a policy of starvation."

"He reported that, of the 221 deaths among the Niitsitapi the previous year, only 133 had been from disease. He attributed remaining fatalities to the Montana liquor trade."

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final paragraph of the book nicely summarizes our abysmal treatment of First Nations. "The gap between the health, living conditions, and other social determinants of health of First Nations people and mainstream Canadians continues as it has since the end of the nineteenth century. While Canadians see themselves as world leaders in social welfare, health care, and economic development, most reserves in Canada are economic backwaters with little prospect of material advancement and more in common with the third world than the rest of Canada. Even basics such as clean drinking water remain elusive for some communities." "Without significant improvements to,living conditions on reserves, new "unnatural" pathologies such as AIDS, diabetes, and suicide have emerged under physical and social constraints experienced by aboriginal communities."

This book is a must read for anyone interested in our treatment of the First Nations.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Acquisition of the West by the dominion of Canada in December 1869 brought unprecedented changes to the inhabitants of the plains. Within a decade, the bison would be gone, and the people who had depended on them would be marginalized by a new economic reality. Shrinking herds, coupled with imminent settlement of the plains by European immigrants, forced the original inhabitants of the region into an increasingly desperate situation."

It's one thing to (vaguely) understand that Aboriginal people of Canada were 'mistreated' at the hands of early settlers. It's another thing to comprehend the timeline of relentless waves of disease, starvation, poisoning, imprisonment, theft, rape, that continued, (and continues today), as the Canadian government just can't seem to make "the Indian problem" go away. It was, and still is pure genocide.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A medical history of Indigenous health in Canada from diseases introduced by settler contact through administrative neglect to the drivers of inequities in social determinates of health today. The introduction of European microbes is a fairly well-known topic in colonial history, but this work also discuses the ecological impact of issues such as causing the extinction of food sources and forcible relocation to new ecosystems on Indigenous health. This is tied to the imposition of a capitalist economy and how it was prioritized over Indigenous rights. The book ends in the imposition of the Indian Act era, but its lessons are still relevant today as Canada clings to its role as a petro-state in the era of accelerated climate change.

[Matt Fodor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree with the assessment that says this is a must-read work of Canadian history. It is a very thorough, fact filled account running from the fur trade through the establishment of the reserve system and Daschuk convincingly shows that Canada's "founding father" pursued a policy of starvation and neglect of First Nations people on the Prairies. The photography is an added bonus and the conclusion does an excellent job summing up the book as a whole.

[Ldw39 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's excruciating that until very recently the truth about Canadian government policy towards the First Nations hasn't been more widely taught and understood for its evils. In 200 pages, Daschuk outlines the resulting almost complete annihilation of indigenous people due to economic change, disease and cruel, inhumane government policy. If you can get past the listing of date after date, this book is a must-read.

[Patrick Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough one! The information contained in this book is vital and an important, under-acknowledged part of Canada’s history. But it was also written largely as a doctoral dissertation and reads like one. If you have any aversion to dry, fact-only, prose-free writing this will be tough (though if that’s the case you can actually read just the introduction and conclusion sections and come away with a pretty good understanding of the larger content).