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Fed Up With Deaths, Native Americans Want to Run Their Own Health Care: https://nyti.ms/31jl2gO Indian Health Service, which provides care to 2.2M of the nation’s 3.7M American Indians & Alaska Natives, often provides substandard care. #Mustread on how systemic the issues are.
Many Native Americans Can't Get Clean Water: https://n.pr/2XjSnrx 58 out of every 1,000 Native American households lack plumbing, compared with 3 out of every 1,000 White people. Unregulated drinking water sources are the greatest public health risk on the Navajo Nation.
Timing is critical: Native Americans warn virus may overwhelm underfunded health services. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/20/coronavirus-outbreak-us-native-americans-health-services $40m was designated for tribal health & Urban Indian Health Organizations as part of emergency leg, but states received $$ immediately & tribes must go through CDC.
Checkpoints, Curfews, Airlifts: Virus Rips Through Navajo Nation https://nyti.ms/2VaK14O The Navajo Nation’s casualty count is eclipsing that of states with much larger populations.
Native American Tribes Sue Treasury Over Stimulus Aid as They Feud Over Funding: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/us/politics/coronavirus-native-american-tribes-treasury-stimulus.html?smid=tw-share
South Dakota tribe says sovereignty allows checkpoints, won't comply with SD Gov's demand to remove coronavirus checkpoints it set up on federal & state highways that run through its reservation. https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/south-dakota-tribe-says-sovereignty-allows-checkpoints/article_a834e24f-e80d-54f7-a76e-09a9671751d6.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_billingsgazette
Missed this: The CDC has turned down tribal epidemiologists’ requests for data that it’s making freely available to states. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/11/native-american-coronavirus-data-314527 Straight up cruelty.
The Navajo Nation has been forced to reinstate lockdowns to shield its people from major coronavirus outbreaks outside the reservation, especially Arizona where cases are surging. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/18/navajo-nation-coronavirus-lockdown-arizona People often have to travel to neighboring states for basic needs.
1 in 3 Navajo citizens don’t have indoor plumbing, which means they can’t easily wash their hands + increase their risk of exposure each time they venture outside to buy limited supplies of bottled water or haul it home from communal wells. https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/7/6/21311211/navajo-nation-covid-19-running-water-access Lot here. Oof.
On the legal complications surrounding Native tribes’ ability to impose public health dictates (or any legal authority) on nonmembers, what SCOTUS has said thus far: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/tribes-coronavirus-enforcement/614242/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29
Navajo Nation Sees Farming Renaissance During Coronavirus Pandemic: https://www.npr.org/2020/07/28/895735482/navajo-nation-sees-farming-renaissance-during-coronavirus-pandemic?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/28/895735482/navajo-nation-sees-farming-renaissance-during-coronavirus-pandemic?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
Pandemic Highlights Deep-Rooted Problems in Indian Health Service: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/politics/coronavirus-indian-health-service.html?smid=tw-share There’s a lot of stats here that make it abundantly clear how chronically underfunded the system is + the disproportionate impact coronavirus has had on Native folks. A continued gshame.
‘A Devastating Blow’: Virus kills 81 members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. More than 10% of the Native tribe has had coronavirus, & they’re bracing for a second wave & more devastation. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/us/choctaw-indians-coronavirus.html?smid=tw-share
