Tag: indigenous people

COVID-19

Helping Marginalized Communities During the Pandemic – Part 1

davidcwrightmd

Marginalized communities across the globe have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the next week we’ll be spotlighting some of these communities and providing links to organizations that are working to help them access medical care, economic relief, and other essential services. We invite you to LEARN by reading about these communities and their unique challenges during the pandemic, DONATE to organizations that are helping, and ADVOCATE by signing petitions and contacting your government officials. 

Civil Rights Activists and Communities of Color

Over the past few weeks, millions of anti-racist activists have taken to the streets to protest and seek justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and other victims of police violence. On May 31, the Associated Press estimated that more than 4,000 people across the country had been arrested over several days of demonstrations. As they exercised their first amendment rights, activists bravely risked both exposure to COVID-19 and injury at the hands of police and white supremacists. Now, many sit in jails unable to afford bail. We know that the risk of COVID-19 infection is much higher in institutional settings like jails and prisons, so it’s imperative, for their safety, that anti-racist activists be freed on bail as soon as possible. 

LEARN

DONATE

ADVOCATE

The Navajo Nation and Other Indigenous Communities

First, we acknowledge that our clinic is located on stolen Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribal land. The Rumsen were among many indigenous peoples whose lives were forever changed by genocidal acts of enslavement, kidnapping, rape, child separation, and displacement perpetrated by the governments and civilians of Spain, Mexico, and the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1864, a large group of the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribal people relocated from the Monterey Bay area to the Prado-Chino area in Southern California, and many of their descendants still reside in Pomona, California. Other descendants include the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation.  

Navajo Nation COVID-19 Data as of 6/2/2020.

The Navajo Nation extends into the states of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, covering over 27,000 square miles and has a population of over 173,000. On May 18, CNN reported that the Navajo Nation had surpassed New York state for the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the US, despite having some of the strictest non-pharmaceutical interventions in place. The All-Pueblo Council of Governors and Navajo Nation leaders have asked the public to stay away from tribal lands and nearby recreational areas (like the Grand Canyon) during the pandemic to limit spread of the virus. 

LEARN

DONATE

ADVOCATE