1 00:00:01,933 --> 00:00:05,000 JUDY WOODRUFF: As states continue to move toward reopening, today, the Navajo Nation 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000 emerged from a strict weekend lockdown and police-enforced curfew, its seventh so far. 3 00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:17,066 Native Americans have been experiencing disproportionately high rates of infection and death from COVID-19. 4 00:00:19,166 --> 00:00:23,833 In this report, part of our series Race Matters, Stephanie Sy explains that even smaller tribes 5 00:00:26,033 --> 00:00:29,033 consider the pandemic an existential threat. 6 00:00:29,033 --> 00:00:34,033 STEPHANIE SY: Ground zero for COVID-19 cases in New Mexico is the town of Gallup on the 7 00:00:35,066 --> 00:00:37,033 edge of the Navajo Nation. 8 00:00:37,033 --> 00:00:38,566 KELLY MANUELITO, Nurse, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services: I'm like, 9 00:00:38,566 --> 00:00:40,600 well, we live in Gallup. It's not going to come here. 10 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:45,266 STEPHANIE SY: Navajo nurse Kelly Manuelito treated the first COVID-positive patient to 11 00:00:45,266 --> 00:00:49,933 arrive at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services. She works in the intensive 12 00:00:49,933 --> 00:00:52,033 care unit. 13 00:00:52,033 --> 00:00:55,900 KELLY MANUELITO: A lot of Native families, there are at least five or six to eight to 14 00:00:58,733 --> 00:01:03,700 10 people living in one household. And it's really disheartening to see that it can spread 15 00:01:05,266 --> 00:01:07,333 so easily. 16 00:01:07,333 --> 00:01:11,266 STEPHANIE SY: The staff of the ICU was overwhelmed when they saw a spike in COVID patients in 17 00:01:12,733 --> 00:01:14,733 late April tied to an outbreak among the homeless population. 18 00:01:14,733 --> 00:01:19,733 KELLY MANUELITO: It's definitely scary. I don't know one single worker who is not scared 19 00:01:21,666 --> 00:01:25,733 to come up. We have been working extra hours, extra days, and it's just been -- it's been 20 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:29,933 really rough. 21 00:01:29,933 --> 00:01:32,933 STEPHANIE SY: She says she's been able to take a break in recent days. The New Mexico 22 00:01:32,933 --> 00:01:37,933 governor lifted a week-long lockdown after fewer cases were recently reported. 23 00:01:40,033 --> 00:01:43,033 But the toll has been devastating on Native peoples in New Mexico. They account for 50 24 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,266 percent of the state's COVID-19 deaths, even though they make up only 11 percent of the 25 00:01:49,233 --> 00:01:51,333 population. 26 00:01:51,333 --> 00:01:53,466 JOURDAN BENNETT-BEGAYE, Indian Country Today: I grew up in the northwestern part of New 27 00:01:53,466 --> 00:01:56,033 Mexico. 28 00:01:56,033 --> 00:01:59,433 STEPHANIE SY: Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, a reporter for Indian Country Today, spends hours a day 29 00:02:01,366 --> 00:02:04,466 compiling reports of Native American COVID cases and deaths. It's a stark spreadsheet 30 00:02:05,700 --> 00:02:08,333 that tells a sad, still unfolding story. 31 00:02:08,333 --> 00:02:13,133 JOURDAN BENNETT-BEGAYE: There was a point where, one day, I saw -- I counted there are 32 00:02:13,133 --> 00:02:18,133 60 people in the database. That night, after recording like 10 deaths in one day, I broke 33 00:02:19,666 --> 00:02:24,033 down. I did cry, because then these are, you know, my relatives. 34 00:02:25,933 --> 00:02:28,800 STEPHANIE SY: Relative has an expansive definition in Indian country. 35 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,800 And on April 23, Valentina Blackhorse, a former Miss Western Navajo, was added to that list. 36 00:02:36,266 --> 00:02:41,266 Blackhorse lived in Kayenta, and her boyfriend, a correctional officer, had the virus. One 37 00:02:42,666 --> 00:02:45,733 day after she tested positive, she died at 28 years old. 38 00:02:45,733 --> 00:02:49,633 VANIELLE BLACKHORSE, Sister of Coronavirus Victim: I never thought she would get sick, 39 00:02:49,633 --> 00:02:54,600 because she kept telling us, you know, stay home, wash your hands, wear your mask. 40 00:02:56,700 --> 00:03:00,866 STEPHANIE SY: Vanielle Blackhorse spoke to us a week after her big sister was laid to 41 00:03:00,866 --> 00:03:02,833 rest. 42 00:03:02,833 --> 00:03:05,933 VANIELLE BLACKHORSE: How a funeral should be, it wasn't like that. There was no chairs. 43 00:03:05,933 --> 00:03:10,933 There was no -- my mom couldn't get comfort from her family. We had to stay in the vehicles 44 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,900 until, you know, they covered her. 45 00:03:18,900 --> 00:03:23,900 I'm heartbroken. It seems like a part of me has been ripped away. 46 00:03:25,866 --> 00:03:30,200 STEPHANIE SY: In an effort to save Native American lives, tribal leaders have taken 47 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,266 strict measures, including curfews and roadblocks. 48 00:03:33,266 --> 00:03:38,266 And in Washington state, the Lummi Nation has been uniquely proactive in testing its 49 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,500 5,300 members. 50 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:45,000 WOMAN: That everyone stay in their own homes and avoid interaction with your family members. 51 00:03:47,066 --> 00:03:50,000 STEPHANIE SY: Springing into action after the first case in the U.S. was announced at 52 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,033 a locale one hour away from the reservation. 53 00:03:52,033 --> 00:03:53,733 DR. CRISTINA TOLEDO-CORNELL, Public Health Director, Lummi Tribal Health Center: So, 54 00:03:53,733 --> 00:03:55,800 then we start putting orders everywhere that we could think of. 55 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:00,500 STEPHANIE SY: Dr. Cristina Toledo-Cornell is the public health director for the tribe. 56 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:05,300 Besides ordering testing materials and medical equipment early on, they have been aggressively 57 00:04:05,300 --> 00:04:07,266 contact tracing. 58 00:04:07,266 --> 00:04:09,666 DR. CRISTINA TOLEDO-CORNELL: So, to us, it was very important to find every single case, 59 00:04:09,666 --> 00:04:14,666 because, if we miss one or two, that could be catastrophic for a lot of people. 60 00:04:16,666 --> 00:04:18,833 And that allowed us to really be aggressive in terms of relaxing the testing criteria, 61 00:04:18,833 --> 00:04:20,733 then do as many tests as we could. 62 00:04:20,733 --> 00:04:25,266 STEPHANIE SY: As a result, they have had dozens of confirmed cases, but no deaths. 63 00:04:27,233 --> 00:04:30,100 Back in New Mexico, there are significant clusters of cases in the state's Pueblos. 64 00:04:30,100 --> 00:04:35,100 By one estimate, 11 percent of the Zia Reservation of only 646 members were infected. At that 65 00:04:37,366 --> 00:04:39,833 rate, leaders are concerned about the risk of extinction. 66 00:04:39,833 --> 00:04:43,666 GOV. JOSEPH TALACHY, Pueblo of Pojoaque: We have been through this before with the Spanish 67 00:04:43,666 --> 00:04:48,666 Flu back in the early 1900s. The Pueblo of Pojoaque was reduced to just a few individuals. 68 00:04:50,300 --> 00:04:53,800 STEPHANIE SY: Joseph Talachy is governor of the Pueblo of Pojoaque. 69 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:58,500 GOV. JOSEPH TALACHY: Our history is passed down through our language and through our 70 00:04:58,500 --> 00:05:03,500 spoken stories. And so any loss of our tribal elders would be a loss to our history. 71 00:05:04,700 --> 00:05:06,733 STEPHANIE SY: He shut down the Pueblo early. 72 00:05:06,733 --> 00:05:09,733 GOV. JOSEPH TALACHY: I knew that there was going to be consequences as well. You know 73 00:05:09,733 --> 00:05:12,233 people were going to be upset. 74 00:05:12,233 --> 00:05:15,733 STEPHANIE SY: The Buffalo Thunder Casino Hotel is closed for business and instead being used 75 00:05:17,700 --> 00:05:20,766 to house COVID-19 patients from other area tribes. Casino closures since the pandemic 76 00:05:22,233 --> 00:05:25,800 are expected to directly affect basic services on tribal lands. 77 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,700 GOV. JOSEPH TALACHY: But it just takes a few mistakes to get this virus to peak back up, 78 00:05:30,700 --> 00:05:32,833 especially in Indian country. 79 00:05:32,833 --> 00:05:34,066 BRYAN NEWLAND, Tribal Chairperson, Bay Mills Indian Community: An economy doesn't mean 80 00:05:34,066 --> 00:05:36,133 anything if you don't have people. 81 00:05:36,133 --> 00:05:39,800 STEPHANIE SY: In Northern Michigan, Bryan Newland is the tribal chairperson of the Bay 82 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,900 Mills Indian Community. 83 00:05:41,900 --> 00:05:46,166 BRYAN NEWLAND: This pandemic's impact on our community has been almost entirely economic 84 00:05:46,833 --> 00:05:48,900 at this point. 85 00:05:48,900 --> 00:05:52,933 I would estimate that, right now, we have about two-thirds of our tribal employees out 86 00:05:54,900 --> 00:05:58,400 of work. And then our tribe has a pretty sizable commercial fishing industry that's really 87 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:01,266 been hit hard. 88 00:06:01,266 --> 00:06:05,200 STEPHANIE SY: Back on the Navajo Nation, Karen Schell has felt that economic hit too. She 89 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,266 runs a shop that's been in the family since 1948 and has been closed for months. 90 00:06:10,266 --> 00:06:13,733 KAREN SCHELL, Owner, Chee's Indian Store: I have just hundreds and hundreds of Navajo 91 00:06:13,733 --> 00:06:15,833 people that sell to me. 92 00:06:15,833 --> 00:06:19,033 STEPHANIE SY: Lost business for her means lost revenue for her local chapter house. 93 00:06:19,033 --> 00:06:24,033 KAREN SCHELL: Those moneys go to our community here. I'm not making anything. They're not 94 00:06:24,766 --> 00:06:26,833 getting anything. 95 00:06:26,833 --> 00:06:29,666 STEPHANIE SY: But she says, just down the road from her shop, fellow Navajo have died. 96 00:06:29,666 --> 00:06:34,666 KAREN SCHELL: We know them by name. And we know people who are sick right now. So, I 97 00:06:36,266 --> 00:06:39,033 think everybody on the reservation knows somebody who is sick. 98 00:06:39,033 --> 00:06:43,666 STEPHANIE SY: Nurse Kelly Manuelito, while taking care of the sick, has been struggling 99 00:06:43,666 --> 00:06:45,700 herself. 100 00:06:45,700 --> 00:06:48,166 I understand you're a mother, and have had to distance from your child? 101 00:06:48,166 --> 00:06:50,600 KELLY MANUELITO: I have. 102 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:55,600 It's been the hardest thing to be away from her. Her name is Hayden. She is 5. For the 103 00:06:59,666 --> 00:07:04,666 past five years and nine months of her life, I have told her every day, come hug mommy, 104 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:07,866 come kiss mommy. 105 00:07:07,866 --> 00:07:12,200 My mission as a nurse is, I am here to protect. And my job as a mother is to keep my daughter 106 00:07:15,833 --> 00:07:19,866 safe, to keep her surrounded by family and love. 107 00:07:19,866 --> 00:07:24,866 STEPHANIE SY: Many will say it's that kinship that has helped Native peoples survive, throughout 108 00:07:25,733 --> 00:07:27,866 time and against all odds. 109 00:07:27,866 --> 00:07:30,966 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy in Phoenix.