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The coronavirus is exacerbating vulnerabilities Native communities already face
In Kayenta, Arizona ó the northwest corner of the Navajo Nation ó the streets are eerily quiet. Famous landmarks like Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley are empty. Flea markets that are normally bustling hubs of commerce in this remote area are now closed. But for those living in and around Kayenta, there is still water to haul, wood to chop, and sheep to herd at home.
The town of 5,189 is taking stricter measures for social distancing since 18 cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, were confirmed over the past two weeks. On Saturday, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez issued a stay-at-home order, prohibiting residents of the countryís largest Indian reservation ó spanning 27,413 square miles from Arizona to Utah to New Mexico ó from leaving their homes unless it is for food or medicine. Tribal police are already patrolling grocery store parking lots, enforcing social distancing and purchasing limits while children shop for their elders who wait in the car.
The Navajo Nation isnít the only Indian community to feel the impact of the coronavirus. The first person in Oklahoma to die from Covid-19 complications was a 55-year-old citizen of the Cherokee Nation. A Northern Arapaho tribal member on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming tested positive on Saturday and the tribe has declared a state of emergency for the reservation that spans over 2.2 million acres. Last weekend, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, lost her brother to Covid-19 after he was already battling a cancer diagnosis.