Navajo Nation struggles to survive coronavirus

Lack of government support

Piñon High School Principal Timothy Nelson believes the Navajo Nation’s high infection rate is due to a number of reasons, including a lack of support from the federal and state governments.

“I’ve always said to people, ‘If you want to see a third world country, look in the United States,’” Nelson said. “Where is the government funding to help fight this Covid virus here on the Navajo?”

He saw no evidence of government help in Pinon or surrounding towns to fight the pandemic.

“It makes me furious,” Nelson said. “We call ourselves the United States of America and we help other countries, but we don’t really help our own.”

In the Navajo Nation, 38% of people live below the poverty line, according to 2010 US Census figures. This is more than double the US poverty rate of 15.1%, according to census figures from 2010.

At the state-run Piñon High School, more than 98% of its students are eligible for the free or reduced-rate meal program, compared to an average of 55% in the state.

As the infection rate increased, Nelson said he was afraid to ask people how they were because he would learn that a family member had died.

A funeral she couldn’t attend

Beverly Mix, a mother of four who lives 15 miles east of Pinon, said her cousin died of the virus and she was never able to say goodbye. Only immediate family could attend the funeral, she said, and they were not allowed to view her body.

“What if they wanted to put things in the coffin?” Mix said. “From the hospital, they put him in the coffin, and that’s it.”

Many other locals share similar stories of grief and loss. Two faculty members from the Pinon school district died over the summer from the coronavirus. Robert LaBarge, a high school English teacher, has a student in his class who is the grandson of one of the faculty members.

“He’s a kid who’s always pretty optimistic, kind of sarcastic, and he has an outgoing personality,” LaBarge said. “Immediately you just noticed that it’s gone a bit.

This nation has few resources

The Navajo Nation spans much of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico, covering 27,000 square miles. The remoteness makes it difficult for people who live there to access amenities that city dwellers take for granted, such as Wi-Fi and running water.

Following guidelines from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention becomes more difficult when people do not have running water to wash their hands or take a shower or bath. Staying connected to the latest security news and information is also a challenge when there is little or no internet access.

Save the older generation

When people can watch the news, Navajo Nation residents like Chenoa Begaye, a senior in Chinle High School and Mix’s daughter, say it’s a challenge to get their older population to listen.

“Most natives, we don’t believe what we see on TV,” Begaye said. “We have to make it affect our family and then say, ‘Oh, okay, this is serious. “”

Begaye’s grandmother, who is Mix’s mother, is 72 and has struggled to listen to advice and adjust her routine.

“It was tough trying to teach her, ‘Put on your mom mask, put on hand sanitizer,’” Mix said.

Community and spending time with loved ones is highly valued on the Navajo Nation Reservation, so it was difficult to help her mother understand that it is safer not to see others.

“She loves to go and visit, and she loves to have visitors, and for us to tell her not to do that, it changed her life,” Mix said.

As the coronavirus swept through the stash, Mix’s mother learned to adapt to those guidelines. Nelson also understands that following the rules is crucial because it saves precious lives. However, he admitted that the strict regulations had exhausted him mentally.

“When you’re in the thick of it, when you’re in a hotspot, it takes its toll,” Nelson said. “I think this is where the reality hits, when you lose someone you know, someone who had Covid, and what they went through.”