The impact of COVID-19 on Native American communities
This is part of our Coronavirus Update series in which Harvard specialists in epidemiology, infectious disease, economics, politics, and other disciplines offer insights into what the latest developments in the COVID-19 outbreak may bring. When the Hualapai tribe imposed a stay-at-home order and closed its Skywalk, the horseshoe-shaped, glass-bottomed walkway that extends over the south rim of the Grand Canyon, last month, it gave its members an added layer of protection against the raging coronavirus. But it also deprived them of their primary source of revenue. In a Catch-22, by following the government’s health recommendations, the Hualapai denied themselves the ability to fund government-mandated services on its lands. For Native Americans, who, like other minority groups and those in lower-income communities, have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, it’s a double whammy, said adjunct lecturer Eric Henson, who teaches the field research class “Native Americans in the 21st Century: Nation Building II.” “Native American tribes...