100 years ago:
A marker at the mass grave in Brevig Mission, Alaska
There’s a mass grave in Brevig Mission that dates back to November of 1918. There are 72 villagers buried in the grave, all of them died within five days of each other in November of that year from the Spanish Influenza.
November was the deadliest month in the state, with 831 deaths. As many as 11,000 Alaskans died from the 1918-19 Pandemic, with over 80% of those deaths being Alaska Natives. In 1918, less than 50,000 people inhabited the entire state.
Orphans in the village of Nushagak, Alaska, in the wake of the pandemic. 1919
World-wide, some 50 million lives were lost to the pandemic of 1918.
November 20th, 2018 at 12:06 AM
The Spanish flue really does seem to have been extra hard on Alaska Natives. I can’t imagine that many people going down in one small village.
November 20th, 2018 at 3:19 AM
I agree, it’s hard to fathom such losses that the Alaska villages faced.