Forgotten Voices: Death Records of the Yakama, 1888-1964 (Native American Resources Series)

Book info: Forgotten Voices: Death Records of the Yakama, 1888-1964 (Native American Resources Series) (Hardcover, 206 pages) – Scarecrow Press, 2009. Language: English.

Despite a recent resurgence in studies of death and disease in native peoples of the Western Hemisphere, little work has been done on death and disease in Native Americans during the reservation period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Forgotten Voices: Death Records of the Yakama, 1888-1964 begins a discussion of the health of the people on the Yakama Reservation in Washington using statistical data. This is the first detailed work that focuses on the causes of death on American Indian reservations. It contains an extensive introduction to Yakama history and lifestyle, and tables that present statistical information on the major causes of death. Each chapter highlights a different cause of death on the Yakama Reservation, including• Tuberculosis• Pneumonia• Heart Disease• Gastrointestinal Problems• Influenza• Cancer• Birth Complications• Old Age• StrokeForgotten Voices is an invaluable resource for students and scholars that encourages further research in the field of Native American history.

Editorial Reviews Review “This book is an open-eyed discussion of the genocide of American Indian peoples through an analysis of the dimensions of death for the tribes that were removed to the Yakama Reservation in the 1850s.....The book will be of great interest to all scholars of Northwest histories and cultures. In addition, historians will enjoy the inclusion of data gathered from original National Archives records of the Yakama Reservation.” ―Western Historical Quarterly About the Author

Clifford E. Trafzer is the Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs and professor of History at the University of California, Riverside.

Robert R. McCoy is assistant professor in the History Department at Washington State University.