Abstract:The presence of chilakwa (smallpox) in Choctaw villages between 1747 and 1748 complicated factionalism and civil war. Utilizing Sharla Fett’s approach to health culture—defined as “the social relations of healing”—this article outlines how eighteenth-century Choctaws arrived at acceptable contingency plans when faced with illness and argues that community responses to smallpox helped ease factional tensions. Iksa (moiety) obligations for funeral rites—embodying the notion of iyyi kowa (generosity)—bridged poli… Show more
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