A Doctor’s Grim Report from Tulalip
Dr. E. Buchanan describes the health crisis and poor living conditions facing the Tulalip Indian community in 1893.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Dr. and Mrs. E. Buchanan, of Tulalip, returned Wednesday from a visit to the World's Fair and Washington City and are stopping at the Occidental. Dr. Buchanan is the physician in attendance at the Tulalip Indian agency. 'Nothing was said at the meeting about diseases peculiar to or most prevalent among the Indians,' said he, 'and I believe nothing has ever been published on the subject. But in my seven years' experience among them I find that the diseases most common among them are of a pulmonary, scrofulous or venereal character. It is popularly considered that the outdoor life, athletic exercises and simple habits of the Indians would tend to ward off all danger of consumption, but they live in huts where they expectorate on the ground and on the floors, and by the evaporation the bacteria float in the air and are inhaled by those who may not yet have been infected.'
“They live in huts where they expectorate on the ground and on the floors, and by the evaporation the bacteria float in the air and are inhaled by those who may not yet have been infected.”
This account reflects the historical reality of Indigenous populations forced into agency living conditions by federal policy, which often led to the spread of tuberculosis and other diseases. Today, Tulalip health services are self-determined and focused on addressing the multi-generational health disparities resulting from this era of government-mandated displacement and poor infrastructure.
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