We have a potentially explosive situation at the Cheyenne River and Pine Ridge Reservations. If you’ve been looking at the news, you may have seen that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has threatened our tribes with legal action because we have taken the rational step of setting up COVID-19 checkpoints on roads entering our homelands.
Caption: In our new video, my colleague, Chase Iron Eyes — who serves as public relations director for Oglala president Julian Bear Runner — discusses the urgency of protecting our citizens. (Photo courtesy of Warrior Women Project.)
Governor Noem has failed to mandate common sense protections for tribes and all the people of her state during the COVD-19 pandemic, so the Oglala and Cheyenne River Nations have taken matters into our own hands by setting up these checkpoints on reservation roads to limit the pandemic’s spread.
They are not roadblocks, and there is no truth to Governor Noem’s repeated assertions that essential or emergency traffic is being detained or turned back. Here at Cheyenne River, we are requiring visitors to fill out a health questionnaire or travel through the reservation without stopping. And just yesterday, two more positive cases at Pine Ridge forced a 72-hour lockdown to enable contact tracing and keep folks safe.
Although Governor Noem asserts that the tribes have not engaged in adequate consultation with state officials, both the Oglala and Cheyenne River Nations have interacted with a swath of state agencies on this issue. 17 state senators have now published an open letter declaring that she has no legal authority to regulate activity on reservation roads without tribal consent.
Governor Noem in no position to issue threats. She’s failing to protect her own constituents within our jurisdiction, so we will. This is a life or death situation, and we have a right to live.
Wopila tanka — my gratitude for your action!
Madonna Thunder Hawk
Cheyenne River Organizer
The Lakota People’s Law Project
When the Hopi village of Bacavi had its first positive COVID-19 diagnosis in early April, the decision to close its doors to nonresidents was slowed by poor internet access.
Stay-at-home orders prohibited meetings in the Arizona community, so tribal leaders had to make decisions about closures via phone calls, said Bacavi resident Barbara Poley, Laguna and Hopi.
“Zoom would have really helped,” she said. “But the [village] governor could not receive my information because her internet service was not working.”
The communications hurdles on the rural Hopi reservation are all too common in Indian Country. The Federal Communications Commission estimates approximately a third of those living on tribal lands lack access to high-speed internet, though others say the figure is far higher.
Advocates say the problem is more urgent than ever with people lacking access to everything from public health information and telemedical services to educational and employment services during a pandemic.
“At no other time in history has robust and universal broadband been more important to the most vulnerable among us,” according to the Congressional Native American Caucus, led by U.S. Reps. Deb Halland, (D-NM) and Tom Cole (R-OK).
It asked the agency to authorize temporary use of available 2.5 GHz spectrum and other efficient, available and cost-effective spectrum on all tribal lands, both reservations and allotments. The commission has a program to authorize use of unassigned 2.5 GHz on rural reservation lands by individual application. Under that program, tribes cannot use 2.5 GHz frequencies under license to someone else even if it is unused.
In an email, commission spokesman Will Wiquist said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai “has seen the digital divide on Tribal lands and is committed to finding solutions to keep Americans on Tribal lands connected.”
“That’s why he championed a priority window for rural Tribes in the 2.5 GHz band, and that’s why granting requests for special temporary authority have been prioritized for requesting Tribes,” Wiquist said.
The agency website shows 29 tribes have applied for emergency use of the 2.5 spectrum. He said two applied on the Navajo and Zuni reservations, and those requests were “acted upon/granted within two business days of receiving the information necessary to grant use of the spectrum.”
He said entities also can apply for special temporary authority to available spectrum other than 2.5 GHz. He said “COVID-related STAs have typically been granted for 60 days, but can be extended as circumstances warrant.”
In explaining the need, the caucus’ letter said: “Connectivity barriers have created enormous disadvantages for tribal members and others living on reservations, limiting access to basic telehealth services, and making it difficult to perform fundamental activities like quickly sending patient information between health facilities and adequately uploading information.”
The report said lower incomes are linked to less broadband access. And lack of access may add to economic development challenges.
“The net effects of enhanced access are generally considered positive for economic vitality, including through channels such as increased productivity at local businesses, increased sales to consumers outside the reservation, improved lifestyle and government services that attract residents, improved medical and educational services, and more,” the report stated.
The lack of internet service in Indian Country is playing out during the pandemic with people dying, and suffering physically, emotionally, and spiritually, according to Loris Taylor, Hopi and Acoma. She is president and CEO of the nonprofit Native Public Media, a support and advocacy group for tribal media.
Taylor was one of the panelists in a Right2Connect town hall meeting hosted by the advocacy group MediaJustice.
“In places where infrastructure is limited, the anxiety is even more pronounced,” she said. “I am hearing from people [in Indian Country] who have no running water, no electricity, who live on unpaved roads and who have no internet, from people who want information from hospitals, law enforcement, hazard management, and government.”
She said parents without internet access take their children to parking lots where they can access hotspots so the kids can do their homework, if they have a handheld device, which is more than some families can afford. “It’s not right,” Taylor said.
She also urged the Federal Communications Commission to allow tribes to access unused 2.5 GHz spectrum on reservations.
Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel noted during the virtual town hall that millions of people have lost their incomes due to COVID-19. They are at risk of getting their internet cut off due because they can’t afford it, at a time “when the pandemic compels people to head online like never before,” she said.
The commission provides low-income subscribers with a monthly discount of $9.25 for basic telephone and broadband Internet access service, or voice-broadband bundled service purchased from participating providers. It recently temporarily waived usage requirements and de-enrollment for Lifeline, to keep Americans connected during the coronavirus pandemic. The waiver ensures no Lifeline subscribers are removed from the program until May 29.
“As this virus places enormous strains on our economy and households, we’re going to have to double down on our efforts to make sure nobody is left behind when it comes to communications,” Rosenworcel said.
Joaqlin Estus, Tlingit, is a national correspondent for Indian Country Today, and a longtime Alaska journalist. She serves on the board of Native Public Media.
Indian Country Today LLC is a nonprofit, public media enterprise. Reader support is critical. We do not charge for subscriptions, and tribal media (or any media, for that matter) can use our content for free. Our goal is public service. Please join our cause and support independent journalism today. We have an audacious plan for 2020, and your donation will help us make it so. #MyICT
‘Most of the time, I’m sewing fashion items for people that want them. This time, I’m sewing masks for people that need them’
Madison Laberge
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – As Miss Shoshone-Bannock, Stormie Perdash has represented her people all across the United States. Now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, she’s representing them in a different way.
Growing up on the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho, Perdash remembers just how badly she wanted the Miss Shoshone-Bannock title – or Miss Sho-Ban for short.
“She was like the coolest thing ever,” Perdash said.
She spent her preteen years on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana and lived in Los Angeles after graduating from high school, and figured her pageant dream was over. But last summer, she returned to Fort Hall for a visit and decided to enter the pageant for 18- to 25-year-olds – which she won.
“My first six months were amazing. I went and represented in Hawaii, South Dakota, Los Angeles,” she said in an interview. “Oh, Wisconsin! Also, our local community events – I’ve been here for those as well.
“And then COVID happened.”
Unable to travel and remaining indoors to guard her health, Perdash began making face masks after a tribal representative sought her help.
Despite no formal training, Perdash had sewn for years, mostly traditional dresses and ribbon skirts – which symbolize resilience, survival and sacredness. She’d never sewn face masks until a month ago, when she made 15 and shared them with her 39,000 followers on Instagram and more than 4,000 Twitter followers. She quickly was flooded with questions about selling the masks.
Perdash now has made close to 1,000 face masks and shipped them to Colorado, Texas, California and New York. She has even shipped a few to Canada. The $5 or $10 prices help cover supplies and shipping.
These face masks were made by Stormie Perdash, who lives near the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho. She now has made about 1,000 masks and shipped them to several states and Canada. (Photo courtesy of Stormie Perdash)
Her sister, Kree Burnett, is creating a map of all the places to which the sisters have shipped.
Perdash’s biggest worry is going to her local Walmart to get supplies. On one shopping trip, all the cotton fabric, interfacing material, elastic and ribbon were sold out. She has now turned to online retailers like Amazon.com to get supplies. She recently paid $25 for expedited shipping so she could continue making and shipping masks to those in need.
“Most of the time, I’m sewing fashion items for people that want them. This time, I’m sewing masks for people that need them,” she said.
“I tend not to think of it as helping others … but it really does. If you’re a beginner seamstress or an advanced seamstress, I encourage you to make masks.”
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Cronkite News is reporting on acts of humanity, sharing the big and small ways people are helping each other in the era of coronavirus.
‘The industry was on a tremendous roll right up until the last month or two. That reversal is stunning and problematic.’
Cathy Bussewitz, John Flesher and Patrick Whittle
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. renewable energy industry is reeling from the new coronavirus pandemic, which has delayed construction, put thousands of skilled laborers out of work and sowed doubts about solar and wind projects on the drawing board.
In locked-down California, some local agencies that issue permits for new work closed temporarily, and some solar companies furloughed installers.
In New York and New Jersey, SunPower CEO Thomas Werner halted installation of more than 400 residential solar systems, fearing for his workers’ safety.
As many as 120,000 jobs in solar and 35,000 in wind could be lost, trade groups say.
“There are many smaller companies going out of business as we speak,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “Up to half our jobs are at risk.”
Leaders are confident the future is bright. But the worldwide slowdown is delaying a transition to cleaner energy that scientists say is not happening quickly enough to curtail climate change.
Even as some states move toward reopening, executives fear diminished incomes and work disrupted by layoffs and social distancing will do lasting damage.
The wind industry is plagued by slowdowns in obtaining parts from overseas, getting them to job sites and constructing new turbines.
“The industry was on a tremendous roll right up until the last month or two,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association. “That reversal is stunning and problematic.”
Residential solar business has been hit especially hard, Hopper said, with door-to-door sales no longer feasible and potential customers watching their wallets. Deals with commercial buyers also have slumped.
New solar installations could be 17% lower worldwide than expected this year, and wind turbine manufacturing could fall up to 20%, according to consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.
“Pre-pandemic, there were great dreams and aspirations for a record-setting year,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of Longroad Energy, a utility-scale wind and solar developer. “I’m sure we’re not going to have that.”
Fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal remain the leading providers of the nation’s electricity, with nuclear power another key contributor, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
But renewable sources — wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal — have jumped in the last decade as production costs have fallen and many states have ordered utilities to make greater use of renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Renewables produced nearly one-fifth of the country’s energy last year.
The EIA predicts renewable energy, despite recent setbacks, will grow 11% this year — an indication of the sector’s strong surge before the economy tanked. Meanwhile, coal-fired power is expected to decline 20% and gas generation to grow just 1%.
The setback for renewable energy still has been painful — even in California, where residential solar demand took off due to frequent blackouts and state laws requiring to new homes to produce as much energy as they consume.
“A lot of companies are just trying everything they can to just limp along and keep their workforce,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association.
All 20 employees were temporarily furloughed at Cinnamon Energy Systems, which sells residential and commercial solar systems in Northern California.
“I’m sure we’ll bounce back, just smaller,” CEO Barry Cinnamon said, adding that people might not spend as much as they once did, because their income will likely be down. “Whether that’s months or years, nobody knows.”
Luminalt, a San Francisco solar company, furloughed most of its 40 employees. And when work resumes, CEO Jeanine Cotter expects that projects will take longer and cost more to keep installers safe.
“Think about working on a roof with a mask,” Cotter said. “And think about not being able to pass a power tool to somebody unless you disinfect it before you pass it on.”
Since his furlough in mid-March, Luminalt solar technician Tom Hicks has been collecting benefits but no salary — and he’s worried about mortgage payments.
“My 401k got crushed by 30% just like everyone else,” said Hicks, 55. “How much time do I have to recover?”
Still, there are hopeful signs. The Boston-based developer Longroad recently began a utility-scale solar project in California and secured new financing for another in Texas.
Sunnova Energy International, a Houston-based residential solar and energy storage service provider, is doing more videoconferencing and fewer in-person dealings with customers. But CEO John Berger said, “Our installations are still moving ahead, service is still moving ahead, we still see customers paying us.”
In eastern Kansas, construction has continued at Southern Power’s 200-megawatt Reading Wind Facility despite delayed parts shipments, company spokeswoman Helen Northcutt White said. Sixty-two turbines are planned for the facility, scheduled to go online in mid-May.
The wind and solar industries have asked lawmakers and federal agencies for help, including an extension of their four-year deadlines for completing projects without losing tax benefits. Similar assistance was granted during the 2008-09 recession.
The renewable energy industry’s health is crucial to improving the climate and to a strong economic recovery, said Matthew Davis, legislative director for the League of Conservation Voters.
“These businesses, these workers deserve immediate relief,” Davis said.
It’s important to push for more responsible energy use as the economy reopens worldwide, said Andrew Pershing, chief scientific officer with Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, Maine, which studies climate change and oceans.
“My hope is that we would use this as an opportunity to build toward an economy that doesn’t depend on burning coal and oil and that is more resilient to the climate impacts that are heading our way,” Pershing said.
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Flesher reported from Traverse City, Mich. and Whittle reported from Portland, Me.
I write to you today with sad news that highlights so many of the layers of injustice we face as Native people.
Here at the Lakota People’s Law Project, we’ve seen a lot and worked hard to address a variety of important issues over the past 15 years — among them criminal justice reform for American Indians. Now, in the coronavirus era, this problem has raised its ugly head again: a 30 year-old woman from my tribal nation, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, died in federal custody in a Texas prison on Tuesday, Apr, 21, just three weeks after giving birth. The cause of her death? COVID-19.
Andrea Circle Bear and her newborn.
How is it that one of our tribal members was taken from my homelands into custody by South Dakota state officials bent on ignoring the threat of coronavirus, and then shipped to a prison in another state that also ignores science — Texas — where she contracted a preventable disease that killed her?
At no point in this process did Andrea have the power to protect herself — an age-old crisis here in Indian Country: lack of sovereignty. Who will someday explain to Andrea’s infant child how and why her mother died in the hands of the enemy?
Andrea’s tragic story shows why your attention to our Indigenous communities is so important. In the coming days, the Lakota People’s Law Project media team will work with journalists to ensure they have support on the ground as they uncover what happened to Ms. Circle Bear. Moreover, we will redouble our efforts to resist willful ignorance in states like South Dakota and Texas in the face of this pandemic, and we’ll work in every way we can to strengthen tribal nations. We live in poverty and we are vulnerable, but we know how to fight.
Please stay with us. With courage, everything is possible.
Wopila — My gratitude for your solidarity,
Madonna Thunder Hawk
Cheyenne River Organizer
The Lakota People’s Law Project
I hope you’re staying safe! Here in South Dakota, it’s getting crazier by the day. Governor Kristi Noem refuses to implement common sense rules to protect the people of her state — and among those most vulnerable are 72,000 Native people representing nine different tribal nations. Right now, Sioux Falls is home to one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the nation, yet Governor Noem has failed to issue a general stay-at-home order, hasn’t shut down nonessential businesses, and has begun using some of the city’s workers as hydroxychloroquine guinea pigs.
Watch our new video, in which Chase Iron Eyes gives context and Rachel Maddow details the horrific situation in Sioux Falls.
As Standing Rock’s Robert White Mountain recently shared with you, Governor Noem has also failed to issue statewide suspensions of utility shut-offs and evictions, forcing Native families into the streets in sub-freezing temperatures during the pandemic. Her willful ignorance of recommendations by medical professionals puts our tribal nations — where public health infrastructure is already often lacking — in extreme jeopardy. Both Pine Ridge and Standing Rock have positive cases. An uncontrolled spread among our people would be devastating.
Here at Cheyenne River, we’ve taken matters into our own hands by closing off roads into the reservation. So far it is working, but we can’t protect ourselves for long if South Dakota’s chief executive continues taking her queues from Trump.
The White House is largely at fault for inadequate testing and shortages of personal protective equipment. While the president calls to reopen the economy and praises oblivious protesters ignoring social distancing rules, only one percent of the U.S. population has been tested for COVID-19. Experts agree that the pathway to recovery includes testing millions of Americans every day.
Only five states in the country remain without stay-at-home orders, all here in the heartland, all with conservative governors. An extreme outlier and part of a renegade, right-wing movement to ignore science at the expense of (disproportionately Brown and Black) lives, Noem must hear the truth.
In solidarity,
Madonna Thunder Hawk
Cheyenne River Organizer
The Lakota People’s Law Project
“Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation President Bernadine Burnette closed the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort last month. Casinos with less than 500 employees are making the case to be included in the government’s payroll protection plan. (Photo by Patty Talahongva, Indian Country Today)
Mark Trahant
‘Congress said ‘any’ small business can get paycheck protection for its people, the SBA has no right to say anything less to small tribal gaming businesses’ * Updated 12 MSTPresident Donald Trump has been clear about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Treasury Department and Small Business Administration announced further details on the Paycheck Protection Program, which was made possible by the 2-trillion-dollar relief bill I signed into law last week,” he said at a White House briefing. “Nearly $350 billion in loans will soon be available through lending partners to help small businesses meet payroll and other expenses for up to two months. These loans will be forgiven as long as businesses keep paying their workers. This includes sole proprietors and independent contractors.”
However there remains uncertainty about whether tribal enterprises — namely casinos that employ less than 500 people — will even qualify for the program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (or CARES act).
It’s more important now than ever to unite and support each other. That’s why, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we’re launching a massive livestream from April 22-24 where you can join activists, celebrities, musicians, and more in an epic moment of community and hope for our future. Together, we’ll:
Drive donations to benefit the COVID-19 relief effort
Call on world leaders to take emergency action to build a more sustainable and just world
Inspire millions to pledge to vote for our future.
For 50 years, we’ve been losing the fight for our planet. But we can make this the century we saved the world — starting on Earth Day. Here’s how you can spread the word and make this as big as possible.
After I wrote to you last week with news that the McLaughlin City Council had shut off the power to my son’s home, you came through in a big way. You flooded the council with nearly 10,000 emails demanding that they stop this harmful practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you, and good work! However, though my son’s power is back on, the council still hasn’t stopped shut-offs citywide.
If you have already sent your message to the city council, please share our action on social media using the buttons below. Ask your friends and family to join our call for Standing Rock safety now.
My son, his wife, and my grandchildren.
I am happy to tell you that a conscientious reporter from the Rapid City Journal also followed up on a press release we sent and wrote an article, later picked up by the Bismarck Tribune. We hope that the continued pressure from you and the media will pay off in policy change soon. The council will meet again on Apr. 21. Let’s make sure they know we won’t accept their failure to provide public safety for the people of Bear Soldier District (our Lakota name for McLaughlin).
Because South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem stubbornly refuses to call for even the most basic precautions to slow the viral spread, the pandemic has now exploded in my state. (We will share more with you about this very soon.) Sioux Falls is home to the single worst hot spot in the nation, and there are also multiple cases in Bear Soldier. This just makes it all the more important that local officials — like those on the McLaughlin City Council — behave responsibly.
Our goal in this campaign is not to increase racial division or get free electricity for anyone. Rather, we’re hoping to encourage compassion and concern for public health on the part of our elected officials — and reconciliation between Native and non-Native residents of Standing Rock. But our goal of unity can only be furthered if justice is secured.
Wopila — I thank you on behalf of all the families of Bear Soldier!
Robert White Mountain
via the Lakota People’s Law Project
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer met with the Chinle Service Unit Command Team and Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Region 9 representatives Josh Allan and Ricardo Zuniga on March 31, 2020 to evaluate local facilities in Chinle, Arizona, to discuss the establishment of a federal medical station to help fight the spread of COVID-19. (Photo courtesy of Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer, Facebook)
Indian Country Today
Data, story summaries, lists of closures, resourcesIndian Country Today
COVID-19 Tracker in the United States
April 16, 2020 9:15 pm EDT
Cases confirmed in the Indian health system: 1,397
Good news: Two Phoenix-area women who were living in the U.K. when coronavirus cases began skyrocketing in Europe say they’re relieved to be back with family
Two pueblos in New Mexico have some of the highest infection rates in the United States. The numbers are stark. Zia Pueblo has 31 confirmed positive cases with a population of 900 people. And San Felipe has 52 cases with a population of 2,200.
‘Congress said ‘any’ small business can get paycheck protection for its people, the SBA has no right to say anything less to small tribal gaming businesses’
COVID-19 pandemic threatens health in Alaska Native villages and the thousands of workers who usually arrive for the short, lucrative Bristol Bay fishery.
Navajo Nation is an Indian Country COVID-19 hotspot, as medical supplies are dwindling nationally. A summary of COVID-19-related news for Saturday April 4, 2020
Ravn Air carried passengers, food, freight and mail to more than 120 communities announced it’s ending service to all but 11 villages. Ravn Air sent the message at 6 a.m. telling employees to stop operations that day.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said there are “’incredible spikes” of coronavirus cases in the Navajo Nation and that the virus could “wipe out” some tribal nations, according to a recording of a call between Trump and the nation’s governors obtained by ABC News.
“We’re seeing incredible spikes in the Navajo Nation, and this is going to be an issue where we’re going to have to figure that out and think about maybe testing and surveillance opportunities,” Grisham said.
Indian Country Today Reporters’ Roundtable, March 30
Another Monday. Another tranche of global COVID-19 cases on National Doctors Day. There are now more than 122,000 cases in the United States, resulting in 2,112 deaths. And in Indian Country there are 190 cases with at least 10 deaths confirmed.
The Lummi Nation in Washington state reported the sharpest increase so far this week. There are now 16 positive cases, 12 of them being Lummi citizens, and nine people who live on the Lummi Reservation. Two of the cases include members of the Lummi Business Council. The identified cases are likely to go up — there are 22 more cases pending, according to the tribe’s public health department.
Meskwaki Nation among others in Indian Country with confirmed cases
Weekends are usually days when people take time off. Not these days as the number of positive coronavirus cases continue to grow in Indian Country. Over the weekend, tribal nations reported new numbers, instituted new curfews and organizations asked for more donations to send to both students and community members. Others used this time to connect on social media. In Iowa, a 31-year-old Meskwaki woman was confirmed positive for the virus, the Times Republican reported. She has been identified as Lindsey Johnson.
‘Three weeks ago we were doing great! And now we’re done.’
It’s a sparse lunch crowd at the Bee Line Cafe in Payson, Arizona. Only four tables have guests seated and eating. Business has slowed considerably in the past week says owner Kassie Sexton.“People are not wanting to come in because they’re afraid they’re going to get cooties.” She laughs nervously as she looks around her nearly empty cafe.
The sweeping bill that President Donald Trump signed will help better equip health care systems that serve Native Americans, improve the emergency response time on tribal lands, provide economic relief for tribal members, and help with food deliveries to low-income families and the elderly.
Tribes have been lobbying Congress to help address shortfalls in an already underfunded health care system and to ensure the federal government fulfills its obligation to them under treaties and other acts. While the $10 billion for tribes in the $2.2 trillion package is less than they requested, tribes say it represents progress.
The number of coronavirus cases is growing globally.
On Saturday, 103,321 cases were reported in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making the U.S. the country with the highest number of confirmed cases and 1,668 people have died from coronavirus-related complications.
Italy’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is the highest in the world, with over 10,000 fatalities.
Federal and state services include monetary and food assistance, unemployment benefits, and more. The National Retail Federation also has over 70 corporations looking for workers
Updated: New coronavirus cases on the Navajo Nation have increased by 20 on Wednesday, from 49 to 69
Tribes in Minnesota are the latest across Indian Country to fall under a statewide stay-at-home order in the fight to prevent the coronavirus spread.Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order on Wednesday ordering Minnesota residents in nonessential jobs to stay at home. The order begins midnight Friday and is scheduled to run through April 10.
The Senate and White House reached an agreement on the bailout funds for America, the largest in history. The $2 trillion relief package includes $8 billion for tribal governments and $2 billion for emergency supplemental funding for federal Indian programs.
The Senate vote on the agreement is set to happen this afternoon. Even if passed by the Senate, they would need House approval.
Two Arizona tribes in the Phoenix valley see their first COVID-19 cases while the Navajo Nation adds 20 more reports. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community reported its first case and the Gila River Indian Community has two positive cases.
These new cases bring the total number of COVID-19 cases in the Indian health system to 64 and two deaths. Eight out of 10 deaths due to the coronavirus in the U.S. have been people 65 and older, according to the CDC.
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community President Martin Harvier made the announcement Tuesday afternoon on the tribal government’s Facebook page.
Generations and generations … have had to deal with these pandemics and these viruses, and they’ve also had to get up in the morning and feed themselves, and make things run for society’
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for people arriving from out of state to slow the spread of COVID-19. On Sunday Hawaii Governor David Ing took the action for travelers headed there.
Surgeon General: ‘America … It’s going to get bad’
This morning U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said on national television, “I want America to understand this week, it’s going to get bad.” As if he needed proof, the number of positive cases for COVID-19 listed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doubled over the weekend. There are now 33,404 cases and 400 people across the country have died.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan: Someone feeling well could still be carrying the virus … ‘then you walk past the next Ron, my big brother, in public’
Indian Country Today Reporters’ Roundtable, March 24
Zibaaska’iganagooday is the exploding sound in the Ojibwe language and it has a long history of healing
Community song and dance have always been a part of healing and prayer for Native people. In this time of social distancing, however, people are putting a digital spin on these healing traditions. People all over Indian Country are organizing virtual powwows and other social dances via social media as a means to offer hope and spiritual support during the Covid19 pandemic
Swords, rez dogs, Indian Country adventures and more
Bored at home? Nonsense. Practicing safe social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic can also mean opportunity. We can finally catch up on all the streaming shows, Native YouTubers, read all the books we never have time for and listen to all the saved podcast episodes tucked away on our devices.
Native artists, musicians, comedians, actors and writers speak on careers affected by the COVID-19 virus. Freelance Artist Resources website hopes to provide relief
American Indians and Alaska Natives clustered in camps or on the streets; ‘It’s been a crazy time’
Every major city has a virtual suburb for the homeless. Homes consisting of tents, scrap wood, shopping baskets and cardboard boxes. In shelters, a family dwelling might have a common kitchen and bedrooms with bunk beds. Others may have a large room filled with dozens of bunk beds or canvas cots. Some have dozens of rubber-coated thick pads placed a foot apart in rows laid across a concrete floor.
The number of positive COVID-19 cases in the Navajo Nation has grown to 14, a dramatic increase from the three confirmed cases reported only a day ago.
The announcement came hours after a 55-year-old Cherokee Nation citizen was the first coronavirus related death in Oklahoma. Before the Navajo Nation announcement late Thursday, March 19, there were nine cases confirmed in the Indian health system.
The Cherokee Nation and Oklahoma have confirmed the first COVID-19 related death, according to the Cherokee Phoenix. A 55-year-old Cherokee man died on March 18 after fighting a cold and then contracted the coronavirus disease.
The death of a tribal citizen that has been confirmed is one of the nine cases reported in the Indian health system as of March 19. On Wednesday, the Navajo Nation confirmed its third case, a 62-year-old Navajo man.
The Lummi Nation in Washington state has confirmed three positive COVID-19 cases, according to Tony Hillaire, chief of staff of the Lummi Indian Business Council. This adds to the total of seven within the Indian health system; one in the Portland Area of the Indian Health Service, one in the Great Plains area and two in the Navajo region.
Of the three Lummi cases, one is a Lummi citizen who resides on the reservation. The other two cases are residents of King and Whatcom counties.
Water is Life 