The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Navajo community steps up for its vulnerable in pandemic
‘You have to give back to your people,’ says tribal secretary.
Raymond Clark lives in the Navajo Nation under the watch of the “Praying Mountain” with no vehicle or running water but is content hitchhiking and carrying jugs down a dusty washboard road to replenish his supply. The 71-year-old works at home in Teesto, painting murals and silversmithing, but friends often stop by.
Or at least they did before the pandemic. Now, rides and visits are scarcer in an area with no grocery store or gas station and where homes sit far apart.
With residents urged to stay home, tribal workers, health representatives and volunteers have stepped up efforts to ensure the most vulnerable citizens get the help they need.
“Our grandmas and grandpas teach us, you have to give back to your people,” said Sophia Francis, secretary for the Teesto Chapter, one of 110 tribal precincts that make up the vast reservation that extends into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. “We have to help our elders. We have to help the community.”
Clark is among hundreds who live within the rural chapter, which functioned as a community lifeline even before the pandemic. On a recent day, a trio of Teesto Chapter employees were unloading firewood from a flatbed trailer. It was unseasonably warm, but Clark knew he’d need the wood for frigid days ahead.
Besides hauling wood, the chapter has
filled water cisterns at people’s homes, arranged for a monthly food bank distribution, and provided septic cleaning and a one-time supply of propane during the pandemic. A tribal lawmaker distributed hay.
When Tsosie was hired as a chapter planner in 2015, she worked on a rural addressing system that included GPS coordinates to every home. Community assessments mean Teesto knows who needs a bathroom addition, water or wood.
The Winslow Indian Health Care Center worked with Teesto and other chapters in its service area to bring the wood split and
ready to be delivered. A network of community health representatives track who needs roads cleared to get dialysis, medication or emergency assistance. Many times, they go door to door to check on people.
Nearly 30,000 people on the reservation have been infected with COVID-19 over the past year, and more than 1,200 have died. What once had been a national hotspot is seeing a significant downturn in infections weeks after the holiday surges. The tribe is planning a soft reopening Monday with 25% capacity for some businesses under certain restrictions.