With more deaths per capita than any US state, the coronavirus pandemic hit the Navajo Nation at its core. Officials want to use federal aid money to prevent a public health crisis of this scale from ever happening again, but obstacles stand in their way.
When the largest Indian reservation in the U.S. was hit by a surge of COVID-19 cases in April and May, it took weeks for federal aid to arrive. By the time it did, Navajo Nation had already begun to flatten its curve, but the virus had exacted a heavy toll.
“Don't get me wrong, we are going to get PPEs, but if $714 million is there, we should be able to improve our economy and our communities with that money for the long term,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez. Cases on Navajo Nation peaked in May, with an average of 104 new cases per day. By July, that number dropped by half to about 48 new cases reported each day. In all, about 9,000 of the roughly 172,000 Navajo members living on and around the reservation have tested positive and more than 450 have died from the virus.
Dr. Laura Hammitt, director of infectious disease programs at the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, administers a test at a COVID-19 "testing blitz" in Tuba City, Ariz. on May 29. Of particular concern is the nation’s intensive care capacity. According to Christensen, Navajo Nation health facilities currently have roughly 40 ICU beds. of cases in April and May, Navajo health centers were able to transfer the most critical patients to ICUs in neighboring cities like Phoenix, Flagstaff and Albuquerque. That ability was critical to their success in managing hospital capacity and caring for patients, Christensen said.
A child bathes in a sink in Navajo Nation. According to the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources, an estimated 30 percent of Navajo Nation's population does not have access to running water. Nez has proposed spending $20 million of the federal aid to build two housing manufacturing facilities on the Navajo Nation, but critics say the likelihood of getting a project like that done and paid for by the end of the year is low.“My hope is that this pandemic will serve as a call to action for people to finally address these unmet health needs,” Hammitt said. “If we don't heed that call to action, we can't expect anything other than for history to repeat itself the next time.
In addition to nonprofit groups like DigDeep, the Indian Health Service also works on expanding water access across Navajo Nation, but its waitlist currently has 3,200 homes, according to the IHS. A pump in Dilkon, Ariz., where locals go to haul drinkable water, on July 13. Due to COVID-19, the local chapter government that runs the pump only unlocks it for eight hours per week.
Children in Chinle, Ariz., wait for a delivery of water and supplies from the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. A pump in Dilkon, Ariz., where locals go to haul drinkable water, on July 13. Due to COVID-19, the local chapter government that runs the pump only unlocks it for eight hours per week.
Children in Chinle, Ariz., wait for a delivery of water and supplies from the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. “Where my parents live, we still don't have running water, and I'm the president of the Navajo Nation. So I know that frustration,” Nez said. Diante Thomas washes his hands at a handwashing station set up by volunteers for the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. Thomas lives in Chinle, Ariz., in a home with no running water.
Nez conceded that tribal law also severely restricts infrastructure development on the reservation, but he also said there are concrete federal regulations that can and should be waived to allow for construction. In early June, the tribal government sent a white paper to the White House that proposes waiving certain federal regulations so the tribe can fast-track development projects. So far, Nez said, they have not heard a response.
Paymella, 59, lives on a homestead in Black Rock, Arizona, so remote that when the access road is muddy, she said it takes about two hours to drive to the nearest convenience store. She said she got electricity about a decade ago, but after years of attending fruitless community meetings, she’s given up hope on ever getting running water.
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