The Word

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The Navajo Nation , a Native American reservation extends across three States

When Valentina Blackhorse tested positive for coronavirus, you wrote to her sister and said not to worry her.

A former pageant queen, Valentina was known for her love for her Native American Navajo heritage, to help your passion for the other, and their playful sense of Humor. They cared for their one year old daughter, a Poet, and worked as a governmental administrator, with the dream of leading your People Some Day as Navajo President.

If the coronavirus reached the reservation on which she lived, Valentina warned to remain in their family home and make arrangements. Weeks later, her boyfriend Bobby is sick and she nursed him in her home in Kayenta, a Small Town in the vicinity of the Sandstone buttes in Arizona's Monument Valley .

she had lived with rheumatoid arthritis feel their whole life long, but soon her joint pain started to be different, and the breathing was not so easy. She took a test and the results came back a week later, confirmed their fears. The Next day, when Valentina, the breathing was getting worse and worse, Bobby rushed them to a hospital. She died hours later at the age of 28.

"you overcame a lot of things in your life," said her sister, Vanielle. "I thought she was strong enough to pull through. "

"if we had better resources, maybe Valentina would still be alive,"

Valentina was one of the youngest victims of the coronavirus in the Navajo Nation , a Native American reservation and dealing with what America is the worst of the outbreak.

Since Covid-19 was for the first time, The Nation reported on 15 March, infectious-pay per capita to the highest in the country, as compared with each individual state.

As of the 14. June, 6,611 cases have been confirmed. More Than 300 People have died after Contracting The Virus , a toll higher than 15 States.

The Navajo Nation is the largest reservation of its kind, both in size and population. More Than 173,000 People living within its borders, in the pockets of the municipalities, distributed over the deserts and canyons of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico . If it is a state in The Nation to be larger than 10 others.

The Navajo , or Diné, as they call Themselves - have lived in the region for centuries, but the Navajo Nation is an American construct. After US expansion, thousands of Navajo were forced to leave their homes, America carved line from a country where you have certain amount of sovereignty could hold. In Return , the Federal government has pledged to assist the People with funds For Education , health care and other services. The Navajo have contributed a lot to America's development. Perhaps the most Well known, the Navajo soldiers that invented a military code based on their Language , the American communications secure during World War II.

But as a coronavirus has swept through the reservation, it has highlighted Many of The Social and economic inequalities that continue to impact on the trunk All contribute to a different, and All make the outbreak worse.

"if we had better resources, maybe [Valentina] was still alive," said Vanielle.

The Navajo Nation 's vast scale has made it difficult for residents to access resources during the outbreak

Many residents are struggling with money. The reservation unemployment rate is approximately 40%, and a similar number live below the poverty line, with an income of less than $12,760 (£10,191) a year.

These factors exacerbate the health problems among the Navajo , and a third of the population suffers from diabetes, heart diseases and lung diseases. In some cases, People have been diseased after years of radiation exposure from the hundreds of abandoned uranium mines scattered throughout the desert.

very restricted access to a healthy diet also plays a role. The Navajo Nation includes miles 71,000 sq km (27,413 square), but only has 13 grocery stores, forcing Many residents to drive for hours to cities outside of the reservation, with better facilities. It is common that People from different households traveling in a vehicle during these excursions, to afford because they are not able to, gasoline, further increasing your risk of catching coronavirus.

relief efforts have been hampered by the limited resources in the health sector. The reservation of a dozen medical facilities hold only 200 hospital beds - roughly one bed for every 900 inhabitants and a third of The National rate. As a result, some coronavirus patients temporary quarantine facilities have been postponed, while others were transferred to receiving hospitals outside of the reservation.

Many of the houses are multi-generations as Well , to spread so that it is easier for The Virus to elderly and vulnerable residents. A third of households have no access to running water or electricity to wash so that it is difficult for thousands of People your hands regularly and ward off infection.

"This is something the whole year, it is already there were on reservations," says Emma Robbins, head of the dig Deep, a charity organisation, the provision of Bottled Water and the improvement of access to running water in The Nation .

Miss Navajo Nation Shaandiin P. Parrish is one of The Volunteers who have helped in the distribution of food and water

Ms Robbins was born to get on the reservation. She now lives almost 600 km (373 miles) away in Los Angeles , California, but will not return due to travel restrictions.

"I'm afraid for My Family , and I'm afraid for My Friends ," she told The Bbc , with tears in his eyes. "To hear these stories and not be able to Go Home is really hard and I feel so hopeless. "

But in spite of their hardness, Ms Robbins says she feels frustrated by the sound in the role of victim, which often colors the discussion on its trunk.

"do It is really trendy things on and around the Navajo Nation in the sense of 'Oh, look how bad it is here, but I don't think People highlight enough adds to The Amazing efforts on the ground and the positivity," She Said .

About a third of the households on the reservation have no running water

In response to the outbreak, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs have told The Bbc it had taken "unprecedented measures to support the Indian Country ," providing the Navajo with protective equipment, contamination of, trailers, and other technical support.

The Navajo Nation also has $600m received under the Act, a $2tn stimulus package to support local economies and communities during the pandemic, CARE. But the local authorities, was signed only with The Money a month after The Bill into law. In the meantime, the Navajo and the 10 other tribes sued successfully by the US Ministry of Finance on the financing differences in the concerns of Trade for Native American groups.

In the middle of the Federal funding delays, the Navajo Nation had for the outbreak relies on donations and its own resources in the critical early weeks. Navajo President Jonathan Nez coordinates the distribution of food and medical care for the residents, and introduced some of the strictest lockdown measures in the United States - until recently, the introduction of a 57-hour weekend curfew.

the Locals are going to help also. More Than $4. 7m was raised through a crowdfunding campaign started by Ethel branch, a former Navajo Attorney General . In an unusual twist, the have thousands of dollars coming from donors in Ireland - Many of the figures with respect to the Choctaw Indians who in 1847, donated $170 in the direction of the measures in Ireland during The Great Hunger. To deliver with the help of volunteers, the Ms office has with the donations of food, water, and hand sanitizer to More Than half of the reservation residents. But the poor infrastructure is a challenge at times.

"It's a community that really isolated, and we try to figure out How To eat, She Said of The Bbc . "The easiest way would be, directly, but it is All slope, and if we keep on the sidewalk, that adds on another hour and a half. "

Navajo President Jonathan Nez (L): "There is still a lot of uncertainty right now, but I'm Hopeful . "

Language barriers are also a critical factor in the Navajo Nation 's response to the outbreak were.

As with All public communications, he divides coronavirus updates in the Navajo Language as Well as English. This is driven by desires to maintain the cultural heritage, but is a practical step, as Well because some of the residents only Navajo or only to a limited English-speaking skills. In Navajo , coronavirus, translated Dikos Ntsaaígíí-19, or the Big cough-19. But some local residents told The Bbc they believe that this translation drives the severity of the coronavirus.

But the Navajo President Jonathan Nez , said that it was "to suspect unfair" the translation does not adequately convey the risks.

coronavirus pandemic, native americans

Source of news: bbc.com