COVID-19 has changed all our lives. But there are many, many reasons that it’s been worse for the AI/AN (American Indian and Alaskan Native) community -- Declan mcmahon - 8th grade
NOTE: IN THIS ARTICLE I USE THE TERMS AI/AN (American Indian and Alaskan Natives), NATIVE AMERICAN, AND AMERICAN INDIAN INTERCHANGEABLY.
I’m not going to waste time here. I’m not going to make any “unless you’ve been living under a rock…” jokes. You know what COVID-19 is. You’ve been affected by it. Maybe someone you know has had it, perhaps even you have had it. But if there’s one group in America that’s been more disproportionately affected than any other, it’s Native Americans.
COVID-19 has changed all our lives. But there are many, many reasons that it’s been worse for the AI/AN (American Indian and Alaskan Native) community, one of these being underrepresentation in data.
According to an article by the New York times, many cases of data miscounting begin at testing and reporting facilities. Testers often assume a test-taker’s race or ethnicity, which leads to Native Americans getting mistaken for other ethnicities, and thus not getting the help they need. In an exclusive interview, Grace Rosario, a teacher who grew up on both the Navajo Nation reservation and the Gila River Indian Community reservation, said about data representation "[We're represented] inadequately. In NY Times coverage, we were under "other." Another harmful process is that of collecting data from certain counties/communities and not others. It's a practice rife with problems that lead to American Indians, again, being underrepresented.
I’m not going to waste time here. I’m not going to make any “unless you’ve been living under a rock…” jokes. You know what COVID-19 is. You’ve been affected by it. Maybe someone you know has had it, perhaps even you have had it. But if there’s one group in America that’s been more disproportionately affected than any other, it’s Native Americans.
COVID-19 has changed all our lives. But there are many, many reasons that it’s been worse for the AI/AN (American Indian and Alaskan Native) community, one of these being underrepresentation in data.
According to an article by the New York times, many cases of data miscounting begin at testing and reporting facilities. Testers often assume a test-taker’s race or ethnicity, which leads to Native Americans getting mistaken for other ethnicities, and thus not getting the help they need. In an exclusive interview, Grace Rosario, a teacher who grew up on both the Navajo Nation reservation and the Gila River Indian Community reservation, said about data representation "[We're represented] inadequately. In NY Times coverage, we were under "other." Another harmful process is that of collecting data from certain counties/communities and not others. It's a practice rife with problems that lead to American Indians, again, being underrepresented.
Another problem that’s affected AI/AN communities and their tribal governments more than most of the country is the economic blow that comes with the pandemic. When the Hualapai tribe closed the Skywalk (a glass-bottomed walkway that juts out over the Grand Canyon) in March, they protected themselves against COVID-19, but they sacrificed the biggest source of revenue for the tribe. It's a double edged-sword. American Indians were promised 8 billion dollars in COVID-19 relief, which wasn’t enough, but they didn't even get that due to bureaucratic hold ups at the U.S. treasury. Because of this, tribal governments must find ways to fund their own relief, such as purchasing masks, tests, food, water, supplies, as well as administering tests and distributing food. "COVID can be prevented by "washing your hands" but on the Navajo Nation the access to water, both clean and running, is compromised. There are also other preexisting conditions that are pretty standard of [reservation] life, including lack of grocery stores, lack of healthcare, etc, which means people had to travel for necessities causing more risk to spread infection," says Perkins. Many necessary resources are not possible when tribes are not getting a regular influx of money from tribal businesses, shops, museums, hotels, lodges, and casinos that AI/AN tribes run on their reservations.
While we're on the subject of funding and tribal businesses, another big problem is the inequity of aid distribution.. Eight billion dollars (which they didn’t even fully get) is less than half of what Native American casinos and gaming establishments put into the government last year alone, which was 17.7 billion dollars.
Even among the AI/AN community as a whole, some tribes are more affected than others. The Navajo tribe, in particular, has had a lot of trouble, with the third highest case-per-capita rate in the country. According to the IHS’s (Indian Health Services) COVID page, the Navajo nation has made up more than 11,300 of the AI/AN community’s total 42,911 cases, a little more than a fourth.
In conclusion, many tribes and the Native American community as a whole has been denied enough money to get the support they need, and it’s deeply affecting their population. Along with underrepresentation in data and the fact that some Native Americans are more susceptible to diseases that can complicate COVID has so thoroughly, drastically and bafflingly been affected by the pandemic, to a scale many cannot imagine.
If this interests you or you want to learn more about it, do a simple google search, or visit the Indian Health services COVID-19 page here. You can donate to the COVID-19 relief fund for Native Americans here or read why you should do that here.
In conclusion, many tribes and the Native American community as a whole has been denied enough money to get the support they need, and it’s deeply affecting their population. Along with underrepresentation in data and the fact that some Native Americans are more susceptible to diseases that can complicate COVID has so thoroughly, drastically and bafflingly been affected by the pandemic, to a scale many cannot imagine.
If this interests you or you want to learn more about it, do a simple google search, or visit the Indian Health services COVID-19 page here. You can donate to the COVID-19 relief fund for Native Americans here or read why you should do that here.
