1837 Smallpox epidemic among Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes of the upper Missouri. From 1837-70, at least four different smallpox epidemics ravage western tribes. 1839-42 Mayan ruins rediscovered in Central America by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood. 1843 Russian-Greek Orthodox Church establishes the first mission school for Eskimos in Alaska. The first issues of the Cherokee Advocate are published in Oklahoma.
Federal soldiers confiscate the press.
With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the Spanish Southwest and its many Indian tribes become part of the United States. Oregon Country becomes part of the United States as a result of a settlement with England. Paul Kane travels among and paints Indians of southern Canada and the American Northwest. Mormon settlers reach site of present-day Salt Lake City. 1847 Outbreak of measles among the Cayuses.