The Navajo Nation has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Indian Country. How will it cope?

New York City. Los Angeles. Seattle. Detroit. These are some of the well-known hot spots for COVID-19, places where a small number of cases multiplied exponentially in a matter of days. Today, a lesser-known hot spot has joined the ranks: the Navajo Nation. On March 17, the Navajo Nation announced the first confirmed case of […]

The Navajo Nation has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Indian Country. How will it cope?

New York City. Los Angeles. Seattle. Detroit. These are some of the well-known hot spots for COVID-19, places where a small number of cases multiplied exponentially in a matter of days. Today, a lesser-known hot spot has joined the ranks: the Navajo Nation. On March 17, the Navajo Nation announced the first confirmed case of the coronavirus within its tri-state boundaries. Less than two weeks later, on March 30, there were 148 confirmed cases — the highest number in Indian Country by far, according to the Indian Health Service. Five people have died.

This story first appeared at Searchlight New Mexico and is republished with permission.

 The Navajo Nation has reported more than 7 times more cases than other tribes, according to IHS data. Out of 1,377 people who received tests on the Navajo Nation, an estimated 110 people — an astonishing 1 out of 13 — tested positive for COVID-19, the IHS reported as of March 30 (the agency had not yet updated its figures to reflect the 148 cases reported by Navajo health officials). 

In Alaska, by comparison, only 1 out of 173 tested positive (346 people were tested and 2 had the virus). The second-highest number of confirmed cases — 15 — occurred in the Portland region; 13 cases were confirmed in the California region; 12 were confirmed in the Oklahoma City region; and 11 were confirmed in the Phoenix region, the IHS report said. Other tribal regions had only one to four cases.

“This is an unprecedented public health disaster,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez announced March 29, the day he imposed an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew across the nation, the latest in a series of increasingly strict measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Native Americans already suffered the worst poverty and most inadequate health care in the country. Will Indian Country be able to muster the resources to fight the virus and provide healthcare for the ill? 

To discuss the crisis, Searchlight New Mexico reached out to Nitumie Gaabow Champagne, executive director of Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE), a Gallup-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of people with chronic diseases throughout Indian Country. 

 This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What are your primary concerns about COVID-19 in Indian Country? 

Our response is focused on the Southwest. Indian Health Service numbers show that the Navajo Reservation has more documented cases than all represented tribes combined. We have 47 confirmed cases in the Navajo region. [The number rose to 148 shortly after this interview.] When you think about hot spots, the Navajo Nation is right there. 

Why is this the case? Is it a failure of leadership within the Navajo? Are people unwilling to follow stay-at-home orders? 

It has nothing to do with leadership. COVID-19 was allegedly brought into the reservation by a religious organization that had a gathering there. We are now seeing the number of people infected doubling. The Navajo Nation has done more than most communities to establish curfews, lockdowns, and other restrictive measures. But these are small rural communities where folks are living with large extended families, so it quickly passes between relatives.   

What, if anything, has been effective in containing the virus in the region? 


We’re working with Native American leaders, sending out good protocols for folks to get tested. In Gallup, there is drive-through testing. And [when it comes to] tribes, the Navajo region has tested far more individuals than anywhere else.

Good testing promotes adequate response. If you’re already infected, you’re already infecting your friends and family. 

In the region, we are collaborating with others to address those most in need, like homeless and transient populations, many of whom are Native Americans, [and] many of whom have immune deficiency and diabetes. So we are working with local hotels where these people can self-quarantine, and we are working to get them food while they are there. We are also working with the shelters to ensure that folks don’t have signs of the virus when they come in. 

The Navajo Nation is locked down, and our small role is to deliver supplies — things like hay or feed for livestock, water, general supplies of foods, sanitary supplies. Elders are at high risk, and we are making sure they don’t have to leave their homes, to limit their exposure. 

Gallup, a city that’s bordered by the Navajo Nation, is particularly challenged when it comes to the transient and the homeless, many of whom are Native American. What are you seeing?

A single-day count in Gallup was at one point 148 persons literally on the streets, with no shelter, no access to sanitation measures, and no medical care whatsoever. For a small community, that is a large population of homeless people. We are reopening the shelters as of tonight [March 30]. And today the homeless population that we are serving is closer to 200. 

Casinos have been closed across Indian Country in response to COVID-19. Will that make tribes even more vulnerable, owing to the loss of jobs and revenue?

Tribes reliant on casinos for generating income for their governments are now asking where they go from here. Many casinos have paid the first two weeks of salaries. But after that, then it’s going to be felt.

Searchlight New Mexico is a non-partisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative reporting in New Mexico. 

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Sen. Martin Heinrih and other Senate colleagues introduced abortion rights legislation into the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Sen. Martin Heinrih and other Senate colleagues introduced abortion rights legislation into the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Ex-GOP candidate allegedly hired people to kill witnesses in shootings of homes of Democratix politicians

Ex-GOP candidate allegedly hired people to kill witnesses in shootings of homes of Democratix politicians

Republican failed state house candidate Solomon Peña is facing more federal charges, this time on a murder-for-hire scheme.  Peña allegedly tried to hire two…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report