Patterns of diffusion: The 1886-1888 measles epidemic and the expansion of settler influence in the Central Interior of British Columbia.

Patterns of Diffusion' argues that the measles epidemic of 1886-1889 was a pivotal event in the indigenous history of British Columbia especially in its Central Interior. This conclusion is drawn primarily through the examination of Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) documents, but also from newspaper accounts, the oral histories of Imbert Orchard, and the anthropological notes of Marius Barbeau. Prior to this study, no academic work has fully examined the epidemic. Patterns of Diffusion' traces the spread of the epidemic, explores the involvement of the HBC, and examines the origins of the Skeena River Uprising, in which the epidemic was deeply involved. The incorporation of the 1886-1889 measles epidemic into the broader historical narrative contributes to our understanding of the expansion of white settlement and colonial authority in BC's Central Interior region at the end of the nineteenth century. --Leaf ii.