As the blurbs will tell you Clearing the Plains is a necessary history of the impact of disesase and starvation on First Nations people in Canada. It's necessary because it demonstrates that the presence of colonists and the proliferation of the fur trade were massive components to the spread of these epidemics in a way that was incidental, that is, without intentional malice. The malice comes later, of course, with the ethnic cleansing, withholding of treaty rights, and aforementioned starvation. As with other books on this topic, the sheer number of the dead is overwhelming and difficult to process.

A heart breaking book. Daschuk examines the spread of disease across the Canadian plains and how First Nations people were effected. Taking on previously assumed theories such as the well known "smallpox blankets", Daschuk explains and proves how these theories are incorrect or lacking. The research and notations are immense. The expansion of the hbc, the cpr, and in general Canada and how it led to the decimation of First Nations people is well documented. Not an easy book to read by any means but an important one for Canadian history. ( )