Zia Pueblo sees COVID-19 outbreak

“As of today April 5th, the Pueblo of Zia has confirmed 11 Zia Tribal Members, potentially 20, infected by COVID-19(Coronavirus),” Acting Governor Floyd Toribio wrote Sunday in a memo to tribal members.

Zia Pueblo sees COVID-19 outbreak

Eleven members of Zia Pueblo in Sandoval County have tested positive for COVID-19, New Mexico In Depth has learned. 

“As of today April 5th, the Pueblo of Zia has confirmed 11 Zia Tribal Members, potentially 20, infected by COVID-19(Coronavirus),” Acting Governor Floyd Toribio wrote Sunday in a memo to tribal members. 

The pueblo, about 40 miles north of Albuquerque, has fewer than 1,000 members, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, making Zia one of the smallest pueblos in New Mexico. 

“If this statement does not make you realize how real and close to home this truly is, then we don’t know what will. We are a small, close-knit community with strong family connections,” Toribio said in the memo. 

The nature of the fast-spreading virus put tribal and state officials on alert Monday in a state that is home to 19 Pueblos, three Apache tribes, and a portion of the Navajo Nation. 

“We are endangered communities and one person lost to the virus takes a toll on the entire community,” said J. Michael Chavarria, Governor of Santa Clara Pueblo and Chairman of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, in an email.

Many households in New Mexico’s tribal communities include multiple generations, with five or more family members living under the same roof, tribal officials said.

House Rep. Derrick Lente, a Democrat from Sandia Pueblo who represents Zia and six other Pueblos, said he had been “on calls all day long.” Lente’s sprawling district runs from Albuquerque to the Colorado state line and also includes five chapters of the Navajo Nation and the Jicarilla Apache Nation. 

One of those conversations, he said, involved the state’s Indian Affairs Department to help create a blueprint for tribes when making decisions in response to COVID-19. 

A COVID-19 outbreak on the Navajo Nation, a large reservation that spans three states, including chapters in northwest New Mexico, has sounded alarms about the vulnerability of tribes. Not only do some members have limited access to medical and communications infrastructure, but they often must travel long distances to obtain food, household supplies, and in some cases, water, too.  Northwest New Mexico will most likely be the first region in the state to see a surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations, state officials say.

New Mexico In Depth has confirmed cases of one to three people at other pueblos in the state, but no potential “hotspot” like the outbreak at Zia.

On April 4, Zia’s Office of the Governor posted on the Facebook page of one of its agencies’ an unsigned statement. The New Mexico Department of Health in collaboration with Zia, it said, was testing Pueblo of Zia tribal employees, tribal officials, and community members who had direct contact with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. The announcement of the positive cases came the next day.

New Mexico In Depth was unable to reach Zia tribal authorities. 

Last week New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made national news when she said some indigenous populations could be “wiped out” by COVID-19. She was talking, in part, about the state’s pueblos, which are many times smaller in population than the Navajo Nation, one of the country’s most populous tribes.

Some tribal members took umbrage, Lente said, as descendants of Native peoples who were here long before Europeans arrived and who have lived through extreme circumstances.

“Well there’s some truth to this,” Lente said. “I can say my people have been here for centuries since the early 1300s and we’ve lived through droughts” and other extreme circumstances.  

But the many hardships tribal communities have endured over the centuries were “before (Interstate) 25 and Highway 313 ran through the Sandi Pueblo,” creating easy paths of transmission for COVID-19, Lente said.

Lente was speaking of the many non-tribal people who drive through and make stops in reservations despite a statewide stay-at-home order issued in late March. 

On Monday, Lente, Chavarria and Acoma Pueblo Governor Brian Vallo urged the general public to obey the stay-at-home orders and respect tribal sovereignty. 

“This is unprecedented in our current living history,”  Vallo said. “If the tribe has announced the tribe is closed to nonmembers, people need to respect that.”

Chavarria added “No one is immune, there is no cure, vaccine or treatment so we must all work together to make a difference.” 

This weekend, Lente received a “lot of calls from people in Jemez Pueblo,” he said, about the “almost bumper-to-bumper traffic” heading into the Jemez mountain range.  

Lente was speaking of the scenic highway that weaves through an area of New Mexico home to the Valles Caldera, a popular tourist destination, after first passing through the Jemez Pueblo.

Acoma tribal officials are preparing to impose a curfew and a “phased approach to closure of the reservation,” Vallo said, similar to steps other Pueblos have taken or are doing now. 

“This is where the state and federal government can help, to manage these closures, with manpower, financial resources, food and medical supplies, to ensure our people are safe during this period,” Vallo said, adding that some tribes have two or three access points into their communities, while others have 20.

It’s important for state and tribal officials to work closely together when they learn of possible exposures or infections, Vallo said, so that information is given in a culturally effective way.  “We want to be involved and be in the know as soon as test results are received.” 

And echoing public health authorities across the country, Chavarria said tribal authorities don’t have enough personal protective equipment–N95 and surgical masks, face shields, gowns and gloves. 

“What is available is being saved and used for the hospital staff, Indian Health Service doctors, health providers which is understandable,” he said. “However, the Pueblo communities also have a need for their first responders, (CHR, police officers, fire departments, and tribal leadership).”

This article first appeared on New Mexico In Depth and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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

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…
Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed 69 bills that the legislature passed during the 2024 legislative session. These included the General Appropriations Act which contains…
Guv signs state budget

Guv signs state budget

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025 and the Capital Outlay spending bill. The FY25 state budget bill passed…
State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department fined an oil and gas company operating in the Permian Basin more than $2 million over produced…
PRC denies request to build LNG storage facility

PRC denies request to build LNG storage facility

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission unanimously rejected a request by the New Mexico Gas Co. to build, own and operate a liquified natural…
NM Supreme Court upholds Community Solar Rule

NM Supreme Court upholds Community Solar Rule

Hours after the New Mexico Supreme Court heard arguments in the investor-owned utilities’ appeal of the community solar rule, the justices upheld the regulations…
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…
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…
Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

The New Mexico State Supreme Court censured a New Mexico attorney because of her “misconduct” in two unsuccessful cases pushing back on COVID-19 regulations…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

Tuesday marked the official beginning of the 2024 New Mexico primary season for the legislature, with candidates officially filing for candidacy. This is the…

Bill to require disclosure of use of AI in campaign materials goes to governor

The Senate approved a bill aiming to require the disclosure of the use of artificial intelligence or other changes made by computers to campaign…
House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

The House narrowly approved a bill that would ban firearms near polling places. The House voted 35-34 to pass the bill following an extensive…
U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Republican official who was barred from holding office after being convicted for a…
Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Hello fellow political junkies! Candidate filing day has come and gone, and members of House and Senate leadership opted to either not seek reelection…
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…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report