One of the hardest things right now is being
able to wash your hands on the Navajo Nation.
If you don’t have hot and cold running water
and access to soap, that’s extremely difficult.
And as we’ve all heard throughout the past
weeks, that’s one of the ways to flatten
the curve the most.
In addition to that, not having drinking water
on the reservation is very difficult, because
when you need access to running water, you
need to actually get bottled water and travel
to these different grocery stores.
And a lot of times when residents arrive,
there just isn’t any left.
You run the Navajo Water Project, as we said
before — the mutual aid that’s going on,
and also why the Navajo community is so hard
hit, a hot spot in — not only in places
like New Mexico and Arizona, but in Indian
Country overall.
Yeah.
You know, that’s such a great question,
because the Navajo Nation experiences some
of the highest rates of water poverty in the
United States.
Navajos are 67 times more likely to not have
indoor plumbing and potable water and sanitation
in their homes.
And again, getting back to the idea of not
being able to wash your hands, you’re not
able to flatten the curve then.
And we’ve seen a rise of COVID cases when
that happens.
As I mentioned, when people go out to haul
water, whether that’s from stores or watering
points, they’re also exposing themselves
to others.
I think it’s also been really tough because
we don’t have a ton of health facilities
across the reservation.
And those that do have access to it often
live very far away and aren’t able to get
there in time.
And can you talk about the role of Navajo
women in leading mutual aid?
Yeah.
I’m glad that you asked that question.
I think I’ve seen many Navajo women step
up and fight for our communities, which is
our traditional role.
That’s not to say that we’re in the '60s
and it's the idea of stay in the kitchen.
It’s that we are the caretakers of our communities.
And this is nothing new for us.
It’s time to step up and work together and
just make it happen, where people are able
to get the help that they need and to really
just come back and serve our communities.
I think of this as by Navajos, for Navajos,
of projects that are happening on the reservation
successfully.
And now the chairman of the Navajo Nation,
Jonathan Nez, and the vice president — he’s
the president — currently in quarantine?
Yes, that’s correct.
They do believe that they could have come
in contact with COVID themselves.
And the hospitals and clinics on the reservation,
are they adequate?
And what do you think needs to happen at the
national level in the United States?
We’re talking stimulus package.
The kind of aid that Indian Country is getting
from that $2 [trillion] — it’s obviously
much more — $4 [trillion], $6 trillion stimulus
package?
Yeah.
So, it’s important to understand that on
the Navajo Nation we have two types of hospitals.
One is IHS, or Indian Health Service, which
is across Indian Country.
And then we have what are called 638 hospitals,
which are hospitals that were originally part
of the federal government but have been taken
over by the tribal government.
And on the reservation, there are 16 health
centers.
Nine of those are clinics.
Seven are hospitals.
There are about 400 hospital beds across the
nation and 46 ICU beds.
You know, talking about these numbers, that
is not proportionate at all, and it’s scary
to think about these numbers rising.
And so, yes, we are a sovereign nation.
Yes, we are able to help ourselves.
But it’s also important that we do have
our treaties honored and have that funding
from the federal government, because this
is when we need help.
Right now we can’t wait.
