Read about the untold story of COVID’s inordinate effects on Native Americans, much of which is exacerbated by the hands of the government.
Edited by Alefiya Presswala
There’s no point in denying the history of transgressions against Native Americans. Christopher Columbus marked the beginning of centuries of mistreatment in enslaving and mistreating tens of hundreds of indigenous tribes originally inhabiting the stolen America; Andrew Jackson and the forced relocation of thousands from stolen land; the consequences of these transgressions persist today in threats against land they’ve held onto. It’s manifested in a chronically underfunded government support system for reservations and individuals. USA Today reported that Congress never allocated cash to meet the medical needs of Native American groups. It’s reported that federal officials spent three times on non-Indian medical care than on Natives. So it wasn’t a surprise when this ethnic group was among one of the most hard hit from the virus. COVID-19 has underscored said disadvantages of Native Americans. In the four past weeks, the death rate among Indigenous peoples has accelerated the fastest of any other ethnic group. In fact, they face the second highest death tolls after Black groups. Despite alarming case numbers, Native Americans have been excluded from the discussion of COVID-19 from the beginning. Despite several requests from local tribe leaders, the CDC denied tribal requests for case data representation that it originally released to states. Executive Director for the Center for World Indigenous Studies, Rudolph Rÿser, told HighCountryNews that aggregated data derived from the CDC’s use of the US Census for demographic data. The pandemic has exacerbated many existing plights that Native Americans face in the US, most of which are employed by the government. With the lack of proper health funds, problems such as the difficulty in access to sanitation, lack of clean water, and inadequate medical services were bound to inhibit virus spreading. Even with the limited healthcare that is available, Natives often times feeldiscouraged to seek out facilities due to experienced stigma and discrimination as well as shortage of supplies and staff. When change doesn’t come knocking on your doorstep, it must come from within. Native communities have reacted in lack of government aid to help relieve the pressures of the virus. Nonprofits like Navajo and Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund aided by volunteer tribal members brought supplies to remote areas that were out of bounds from hospitals. There is aid that can be given to these tribes and individuals from the sidelines. Donations to funds like Cultural Survival contribute to the creation of accurate public data models that enable Indigenous peoples to track their own case numbers. But perhaps the most effective strategy is to spread awareness. With more awareness spread on this devastating facet of the US, support will flush into the backs of Native American rights groups in fighting for their civil rights and liberties. Sources: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/PB_70.pdf https://www.culturalsurvival.org/donate https://www.navajohopisolidarity.org/ https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf https://khn.org/morning-breakout/cdc-denies-native-american-tribes-requests-for-coronavirus-data-that-is-freely-available-to-states/ https://www.hcn.org/articles/indigenous-affairs-the-erasure-of-indigenous-people-in-us-covid-19-data#:~:text=Rudolph%20R%C3%BFser%20(Cree%2FOneida),in%20the%20U.S.%20and%20beyond.
Comments