As the months roll by, the pandemic continues to hit Indigenous nations hard. But this phenomenon is not new. Epidemics have been part of colonialism since settlers arrived. Health inequities tell us that illnesses have different outcomes on different populations; however, leading medical professionals warn the public of the dangers of oversimplifying health data. They don’t tell the whole story. And, in the case of Indigenous nations, the story of inequity is imbued with dispossession of lands and is met with organizing from the inside: two crucial points for untangling and responding to COVID-19.

As scholars who have studied impacts of the virus and Native nations, we have found that Indigenous nations have reacted quickly and effectively to the pandemic.

In our analysis, tribal nations have implemented guidelines and policies that appear to be far more effective than those used by the states they are in. These responses include locking down roads and implementing guidelines earlier and more carefully than others and developing relevant modes of delivery of supplies. Their response shows that Indigenous nations and communities know what they need; they are the directors of their own protective measures.

Even when governors in the states tribes are in disagree with them, nation leaders stood out. Responding to the pandemic also means continuing to exercise sovereignty.

In the Southwest, multiple tribes have quickly responded to COVID-19. The Navajo Nation has acted more swiftly and strongly to COVID-19 numbers than Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who was slow to suggest guidelines at the pandemic’s beginning and quick to let them expire. In contrast, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez put out a mask mandate and began a public education campaign on the Navajo reservation in the early days of the pandemic. Still, numbers and impacts of COVID-19 continue.

Read the full article about how Native Nations are responding to the pandemic by Zenobia Jeffries Warfield at YES! Magazine.