WEBVTT 00:01.933 --> 00:05.000 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: As states continue to move toward reopening, today, the Navajo Nation 00:05.000 --> 00:10.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% emerged from a strict weekend lockdown and police-enforced curfew, its seventh so far. 00:12.300 --> 00:17.066 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% Native Americans have been experiencing disproportionately high rates of infection and death from COVID-19. 00:19.166 --> 00:23.833 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% In this report, part of our series Race Matters, Stephanie Sy explains that even smaller tribes 00:26.033 --> 00:29.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% consider the pandemic an existential threat. 00:29.033 --> 00:34.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Ground zero for COVID-19 cases in New Mexico is the town of Gallup on the 00:35.066 --> 00:37.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% edge of the Navajo Nation. 00:37.033 --> 00:38.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KELLY MANUELITO, Nurse, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services: I'm like, 00:38.566 --> 00:40.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% well, we live in Gallup. It's not going to come here. 00:40.600 --> 00:45.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Navajo nurse Kelly Manuelito treated the first COVID-positive patient to 00:45.266 --> 00:49.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% arrive at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services. She works in the intensive 00:49.933 --> 00:52.033 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% care unit. 00:52.033 --> 00:55.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KELLY MANUELITO: A lot of Native families, there are at least five or six to eight to 00:58.733 --> 01:03.700 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% 10 people living in one household. And it's really disheartening to see that it can spread 01:05.266 --> 01:07.333 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% so easily. 01:07.333 --> 01:11.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: The staff of the ICU was overwhelmed when they saw a spike in COVID patients in 01:12.733 --> 01:14.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% late April tied to an outbreak among the homeless population. 01:14.733 --> 01:19.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KELLY MANUELITO: It's definitely scary. I don't know one single worker who is not scared 01:21.666 --> 01:25.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% to come up. We have been working extra hours, extra days, and it's just been -- it's been 01:27.800 --> 01:29.933 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% really rough. 01:29.933 --> 01:32.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: She says she's been able to take a break in recent days. The New Mexico 01:32.933 --> 01:37.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% governor lifted a week-long lockdown after fewer cases were recently reported. 01:40.033 --> 01:43.033 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% But the toll has been devastating on Native peoples in New Mexico. They account for 50 01:45.000 --> 01:48.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% percent of the state's COVID-19 deaths, even though they make up only 11 percent of the 01:49.233 --> 01:51.333 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% population. 01:51.333 --> 01:53.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOURDAN BENNETT-BEGAYE, Indian Country Today: I grew up in the northwestern part of New 01:53.466 --> 01:56.033 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% Mexico. 01:56.033 --> 01:59.433 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, a reporter for Indian Country Today, spends hours a day 02:01.366 --> 02:04.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% compiling reports of Native American COVID cases and deaths. It's a stark spreadsheet 02:05.700 --> 02:08.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% that tells a sad, still unfolding story. 02:08.333 --> 02:13.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOURDAN BENNETT-BEGAYE: There was a point where, one day, I saw -- I counted there are 02:13.133 --> 02:18.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% 60 people in the database. That night, after recording like 10 deaths in one day, I broke 02:19.666 --> 02:24.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% down. I did cry, because then these are, you know, my relatives. 02:25.933 --> 02:28.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Relative has an expansive definition in Indian country. 02:28.800 --> 02:33.800 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% And on April 23, Valentina Blackhorse, a former Miss Western Navajo, was added to that list. 02:36.266 --> 02:41.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Blackhorse lived in Kayenta, and her boyfriend, a correctional officer, had the virus. One 02:42.666 --> 02:45.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% day after she tested positive, she died at 28 years old. 02:45.733 --> 02:49.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% VANIELLE BLACKHORSE, Sister of Coronavirus Victim: I never thought she would get sick, 02:49.633 --> 02:54.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% because she kept telling us, you know, stay home, wash your hands, wear your mask. 02:56.700 --> 03:00.866 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% STEPHANIE SY: Vanielle Blackhorse spoke to us a week after her big sister was laid to 03:00.866 --> 03:02.833 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% rest. 03:02.833 --> 03:05.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% VANIELLE BLACKHORSE: How a funeral should be, it wasn't like that. There was no chairs. 03:05.933 --> 03:10.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% There was no -- my mom couldn't get comfort from her family. We had to stay in the vehicles 03:16.400 --> 03:18.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% until, you know, they covered her. 03:18.900 --> 03:23.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% I'm heartbroken. It seems like a part of me has been ripped away. 03:25.866 --> 03:30.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: In an effort to save Native American lives, tribal leaders have taken 03:30.200 --> 03:33.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% strict measures, including curfews and roadblocks. 03:33.266 --> 03:38.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And in Washington state, the Lummi Nation has been uniquely proactive in testing its 03:39.000 --> 03:41.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% 5,300 members. 03:41.500 --> 03:45.000 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% WOMAN: That everyone stay in their own homes and avoid interaction with your family members. 03:47.066 --> 03:50.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Springing into action after the first case in the U.S. was announced at 03:50.000 --> 03:52.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% a locale one hour away from the reservation. 03:52.033 --> 03:53.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% DR. CRISTINA TOLEDO-CORNELL, Public Health Director, Lummi Tribal Health Center: So, 03:53.733 --> 03:55.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% then we start putting orders everywhere that we could think of. 03:55.800 --> 04:00.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Dr. Cristina Toledo-Cornell is the public health director for the tribe. 04:00.500 --> 04:05.300 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% Besides ordering testing materials and medical equipment early on, they have been aggressively 04:05.300 --> 04:07.266 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% contact tracing. 04:07.266 --> 04:09.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% DR. CRISTINA TOLEDO-CORNELL: So, to us, it was very important to find every single case, 04:09.666 --> 04:14.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% because, if we miss one or two, that could be catastrophic for a lot of people. 04:16.666 --> 04:18.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And that allowed us to really be aggressive in terms of relaxing the testing criteria, 04:18.833 --> 04:20.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% then do as many tests as we could. 04:20.733 --> 04:25.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: As a result, they have had dozens of confirmed cases, but no deaths. 04:27.233 --> 04:30.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Back in New Mexico, there are significant clusters of cases in the state's Pueblos. 04:30.100 --> 04:35.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% By one estimate, 11 percent of the Zia Reservation of only 646 members were infected. At that 04:37.366 --> 04:39.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% rate, leaders are concerned about the risk of extinction. 04:39.833 --> 04:43.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GOV. JOSEPH TALACHY, Pueblo of Pojoaque: We have been through this before with the Spanish 04:43.666 --> 04:48.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Flu back in the early 1900s. The Pueblo of Pojoaque was reduced to just a few individuals. 04:50.300 --> 04:53.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% STEPHANIE SY: Joseph Talachy is governor of the Pueblo of Pojoaque. 04:53.800 --> 04:58.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GOV. JOSEPH TALACHY: Our history is passed down through our language and through our 04:58.500 --> 05:03.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% spoken stories. And so any loss of our tribal elders would be a loss to our history. 05:04.700 --> 05:06.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% STEPHANIE SY: He shut down the Pueblo early. 05:06.733 --> 05:09.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GOV. JOSEPH TALACHY: I knew that there was going to be consequences as well. You know 05:09.733 --> 05:12.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% people were going to be upset. 05:12.233 --> 05:15.733 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: The Buffalo Thunder Casino Hotel is closed for business and instead being used 05:17.700 --> 05:20.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% to house COVID-19 patients from other area tribes. Casino closures since the pandemic 05:22.233 --> 05:25.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% are expected to directly affect basic services on tribal lands. 05:25.800 --> 05:30.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GOV. JOSEPH TALACHY: But it just takes a few mistakes to get this virus to peak back up, 05:30.700 --> 05:32.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% especially in Indian country. 05:32.833 --> 05:34.066 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% BRYAN NEWLAND, Tribal Chairperson, Bay Mills Indian Community: An economy doesn't mean 05:34.066 --> 05:36.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% anything if you don't have people. 05:36.133 --> 05:39.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: In Northern Michigan, Bryan Newland is the tribal chairperson of the Bay 05:39.800 --> 05:41.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Mills Indian Community. 05:41.900 --> 05:46.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% BRYAN NEWLAND: This pandemic's impact on our community has been almost entirely economic 05:46.833 --> 05:48.900 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% at this point. 05:48.900 --> 05:52.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I would estimate that, right now, we have about two-thirds of our tribal employees out 05:54.900 --> 05:58.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% of work. And then our tribe has a pretty sizable commercial fishing industry that's really 05:59.200 --> 06:01.266 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% been hit hard. 06:01.266 --> 06:05.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Back on the Navajo Nation, Karen Schell has felt that economic hit too. She 06:07.200 --> 06:10.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% runs a shop that's been in the family since 1948 and has been closed for months. 06:10.266 --> 06:13.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KAREN SCHELL, Owner, Chee's Indian Store: I have just hundreds and hundreds of Navajo 06:13.733 --> 06:15.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% people that sell to me. 06:15.833 --> 06:19.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Lost business for her means lost revenue for her local chapter house. 06:19.033 --> 06:24.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KAREN SCHELL: Those moneys go to our community here. I'm not making anything. They're not 06:24.766 --> 06:26.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% getting anything. 06:26.833 --> 06:29.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: But she says, just down the road from her shop, fellow Navajo have died. 06:29.666 --> 06:34.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KAREN SCHELL: We know them by name. And we know people who are sick right now. So, I 06:36.266 --> 06:39.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% think everybody on the reservation knows somebody who is sick. 06:39.033 --> 06:43.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Nurse Kelly Manuelito, while taking care of the sick, has been struggling 06:43.666 --> 06:45.700 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% herself. 06:45.700 --> 06:48.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I understand you're a mother, and have had to distance from your child? 06:48.166 --> 06:50.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% KELLY MANUELITO: I have. 06:50.600 --> 06:55.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% It's been the hardest thing to be away from her. Her name is Hayden. She is 5. For the 06:59.666 --> 07:04.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% past five years and nine months of her life, I have told her every day, come hug mommy, 07:05.800 --> 07:07.866 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% come kiss mommy. 07:07.866 --> 07:12.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% My mission as a nurse is, I am here to protect. And my job as a mother is to keep my daughter 07:15.833 --> 07:19.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% safe, to keep her surrounded by family and love. 07:19.866 --> 07:24.866 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% STEPHANIE SY: Many will say it's that kinship that has helped Native peoples survive, throughout 07:25.733 --> 07:27.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% time and against all odds. 07:27.866 --> 07:30.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy in Phoenix.