Indigenous Lives are Especially at Risk in the Era of COVID-19


Written by: Dana Dobbins




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. 




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