by Rich Wandschneider | Dec 4, 2023 | Charles Mann, Gaza, Israel
In his new book, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History, Ned Blackhawk argues that ”the most traumatic development in American history [is] the loss of indigenous life due to European diseases. Epidemics tore apart numerous...
by Rich Wandschneider | Sep 2, 2022 | 1491, 1918 influenza resiliency, Charles Mann, Chuck Sams, Deb Haaland, Mary Peltola, Nez Perce Tribe, umatilla reservation, Undaunted Courage
Friends texted and emailed me this yesterday to tell me that Mary Peltola, a Yup’ik Alaskan Native, had won election in her state for the short remainder of a congressional term. She’ll run again for a full term in the fall. Even the short term marks a win for the...
by Rich Wandschneider | Feb 11, 2022 | 1491, Alvin Josephy, American Indian languages, archeology, Bering Land Bridge, Charles Mann, Indian DNA, Indian population, indigenous americans, Indigenous population of America, Jennifer Raff, Kelp Highway
Several friends quickly sent me the NYTimes review of a new book on the old subject of human origins in the Americas. The book is ORIGIN: A Genetic History of the Americas, and the author is Jennifer Raff. According to the reviewer, Raff consulted the sciences of...
by Rich Wandschneider | May 1, 2020 | Charles Mann, COVID-19, Indian population, infectious diseases, nurture and nature, smallpox, virology
On Monday night, on NPR’s coronavirus question and answer show, a listener asked whether there might be something in African Americans’ unique vulnerability to sickle cell anemia that related to their high rates of infection—and death—with COVID-19. The medical person...
by Rich Wandschneider | Apr 17, 2020 | American Indians and COVID-19, Charles Mann, COVID-19, Indian Health Service, lactose intolerance, Navajo Nation, sickle cell anemia
In my last post I told a story about Native Alaskan firefighters, who had come south to fight fires, getting sick on MRIs (“meals ready to eat”) and being fed suet to right their stomachs. A long-time Alaska firefighter tells me that this is mostly “urban legend,”...
by Rich Wandschneider | Apr 13, 2020 | 1491, Charles Mann, COVID-19, epidemics, Helper t-cells, HLA, Indigenous population of America, Pandemics, smallpox
Years ago, when I was the Director of an organization called Fishtrap, we had a conference at Wallowa Lake on “Fire.” Stephen J. Pyne, the McArthur Fellow who wrote the books on fire in America, was the featured speaker. Forest Service and BLM firefighters from across...
