Indigenous Lives are Especially at Risk in the Era of COVID-19
Written by: Dana Dobbins
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COVID-19 is as much
of a cultural phenomenon as it is a pandemic. Understanding how a virus moves
through a population of people, who is at risk of serious harm from said
virus’s complications, and what actions we as a society need to take in order
to protect the most vulnerable among us are all questions that we’ve seen play
out in real time during this pandemic. One might also note that this is an
issue that spans cultural, economic, and political backgrounds, proving once
again that we are only as rich as our poorest citizens and only as strong as
our most vulnerable. In pandemic situations, it is often the minorities of a
population that find themselves most susceptible to illness. According to USA
Today’s Deborah Barfield, ”Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans have many
underlying health conditions, including asthma and heart disease, that could
make them more vulnerable to complications from the coronavirus” (Berry, 2020). In addition to this many
“advocates, lawmakers and public health experts worried these long marginalized
communities won't get equal access to tests and treatment as the outbreak
spreads” (Berry).
In addition to this,
Carolyn Smith-Morris and Danielle DeLuca’s article cites Chief Perry Bellegarde
saying at the assembly of First Nations that “Many Inuit and First Nations
residents in remote communities have no hospitals and can only get health care
by flying to urban centres. Indigenous residents of fly-in communities and
those at higher risk of infection must remain top of mind” (Deluca, 2020). They also cited the concern
for the most vulnerable including immuno-compromised people as well as
Indigenous elders who are important members of their communities. The United
Nations’s Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues,
Anne Nuorgam made a statement posing ”Indigenous peoples’ traditional
lifestyles are a source of their resiliency, and can also pose a threat at this
time in preventing the spread of the virus. For example, most indigenous
communities regularly organize large traditional gatherings to mark special
events e.g. harvests, coming of age ceremonies, etc. Some indigenous communities also live in
multi-generational housing, which puts Indigenous peoples and their families,
especially the Elders, at risk” (United Nations, 2020). Smith-Morris and
Deluca continue, “The high vulnerability of Indigenous elders is a factor not
only of their frailty and age, but also of their particular roles in Indigenous
societies and families. Often living within inter-generational homes, elders
cannot easily isolate themselves from other family members who may be exposed
(but less vulnerable) to COVID...Elders often play key roles in community
gatherings, whether dances, healing ceremonies, or governance; restricting
elder access to these critical functions of society will become increasingly
difficult as the pandemic stretches on” (Deluca). Although the demographic data for
most countries is not out quite yet with regards to spread and severity of
COVID-19 in minority populations, many indigenous populations all over the
world are beginning to expect the worst. Native people are also uniquely
susceptible to illnesses like what COVID-19 produces and if they are not sick.
The BBC notes that “Respiratory illnesses - such as those that develop from the
influenza virus - are already the main cause of death for native communities” (Fellet, 2020).
The world leaders
need to be made aware of the gravity of the situation so that they can begin to
assist indigenous groups with obtaining the resources they need. Indigenous
people are still in a vulnerable position economically and socially as they
have been since the establishment of colonial governments. People are concerned
about the deadly nature of the COVID-19 virus but the cultural change that much
of the world has adapted also threatens the livelihoods of people as well. The
adverse effects of the cultural climate surrounding COVID-19 including poverty,
unemployment, and scarcity of necessary resources tend to most greatly impact
those who are in minority groups or are already impoverished in ways that force
them to rely on their communities or government intervention in order to
survive. The USA Today article continues “As the coronavirus continues to
spread across the country, advocates and civil rights groups are pushing to get
local and federal lawmakers to focus attention on communities of color and
steer resources to places like reservations and community health centers that
serve them” (Berry). Indigenous people are already
historically impoverished and lack access to government assistance resources
even before the COVID-19 era, and this fact leaves them in a very vulnerable
position because they not only can not get the help they need but have also
been put into a position that limits their ability to organize their
communities and become self-sustaining. In the case of indigenous people in
Bogotá, Colombia, indigenous leaders are citing hunger as being one of their
main concerns currently. The New York Times found that the largest isolated
indigenous group of this region, the Wayuu, are no longer receiving food and
government assistance since the pandemic closed their schools:
Since Colombia went
into quarantine and schools shut down two weeks ago, Josefa García, a school
administrator, has not received any of these meals from the country’s ministry
of education. Nor have those children. And many of the students, some of whom
have watched their brothers and sisters die of malnutrition in this remote and
often neglected region, are starting to worry about survival. “Our fear is that
if we don’t die of the virus,” said Ms. García, 68, “we will die of hunger.” (Turkewitz, 2020)
Starvation,
illness and extreme poverty are not limited to South America. In the US, the
Navajo Nation is struggling to feed their communities as well. An article
written by Creede Newton of Al Jazeera noted that “Now, with the curfew,
‘hunger is becoming an issue’, Livingston said. The lack of easy access to food
- especially healthy options - has been a problem for Navajo people for years” (Newton, 2020). All in all, indigenous people are
particularly vulnerable, especially during a global pandemic and they need to
be accounted for when resources are being allocated rather than cast
aside.
Sources:
Smith-Morris and DeLuca-https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/coronavirus-indigenous-peoples-and-global-advocacy
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