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Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Logging Protests
This short article from the oldest Indigenous Newspaper in Canada discusses the celebrations.

This article from the same author published on another source goes into greater depth of the event.

Current status of Vancouver Island Land
This 2018 article from the Sierra Club discusses the current status of the land that was the center of the protests.

In much of the article, the voices of the Tla-o-qui-aht people seem to be left out, especially when considering their claims on the land, their opposition to overly destructive logging, and their participation in the massive protests. At the very least, the article could be updated to include the Tla-o-qui-aht's 30th Anniversary celebration of the fight against logging on Meares Island. This celebration at Tofino Community Hall saw members of the community come together in traditional song and dance while also recognizing the achievements of thirty years ago.

On April 20, 2014 Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation commemorated 30 years since the beginning of the Clayoquot Protests in an event at Tofino Community Hall. The event saw members of the Tribal community engage in tradtional song and dance while also celebrating successful attempts at opposing logging on Meares Island Tribal Park.

Pre-pandemic conditions[edit]
Many Native Americans live in crowded conditions and with multiple generations in a single household, creating difficulties for social distancing and isolation within households. In addition to crowded living situations, many Native Americans live on tribal reservations which generally have substandard housing or face inadequate housing when living off-reservations. Other issues facing Native Americans include limited access to water, food insecurity, lack of phone service, and children relying on schools to provide breakfast and lunch. (ADD) According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, data "indicates that a majority of American Indians/Alaska Natives have fewer years of education and are three times more likely to live in poverty and be uninsured than the U.S. general population."

(ADD)

In addition to the aforementioned difficulties faced by those living on tribal reservations, lack of access to healthcare services and facilities also served as a widespread pre-pandemic condition. According to Kevin Allis who currently serves as the CEO of the National Congress of American Indians, "the IHS has only 1257 hospital beds and 36 intensive care units, and many people covered by the IHS are hours away from the nearest IHS facility."

Government Response
(ADD)

With the passage of the CARES Act in March 2020, $100 million in funding was secured on behalf of tribes in the Indian Community Development Block Grant. This grant "funds improvements to community facilities, infrastructure, and housing stock, and supports economic development in American Indian and Alaska Native communities." In addition,

In August 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided $200 million in COVID-19 funding to Indian Country "to support tribes and tribal organizations in carrying out COVID-19 preparedness and response activities, including surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity, infection control, and mitigation". The CDC, National Indian Health Board, and the Indian Health Service (IHS) created websites and infographics to provide information specifically for Native American tribes and tribal communities. The IHS created a COVID-19 story map which tracks positive cases by IHS areas, including tribal and urban Indian facilities.

(ADD)

While many state governments collected data as to the races of those being afflicted with COVID-19, "as late as May nearly half of the states that collected these data omitted AI/NA peoples, instead lumping them into the “other” category." This action by dozens of state governments led to incomplete data during the early months of the pandemic as to the implications of COVID-19 on Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

Heavily Impacted Communities
For much of the beginning of the pandemic, the Navajo nation had some of the highest rates of both COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country. As of May 2020, the Navajo had the highest positive test rate of 2,304 per 100,000, passing New York with a rate of 1,806 per 100,000. President Jonathan Nez of Navajo Nation stated that this increase was due to increased testing capacity as "More than 23,791 members, or 11% of the population of the Navajo Nation, has been tested for the virus." In a press release appealing to the Navajo community Nez said, "With every passing day, we are a day closer to beating COVID-19. Whether we realize it or not we are winning the war on this virus. We have to stay the course when it comes to staying home as much as possible, wearing masks in public, washing our hands often, and taking every precaution to ensure our health and safety especially for our elders and children." Navajo Nation has implemented a Stay-at-Home (Shelter in Place) Order and Daily Curfew from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am Effective Until Further Notice. As this order stays in place into April 2021, "The Navajo Department of Health on Monday loosened some virus-driven restrictions and transition to “yellow status.” Restaurants will be allowed to have in-door dining at 25% capacity and outdoor dining at 50% capacity. Parks will be permitted to open at 25% capacity but only for residents and employees. Navajo casinos will be able to open at 50% capacity, but only for residents and staff as well." By April 27th, Navajo Nation had seen its caseload drastically reduce, recording 5 new COVID-19 cases and 0 deaths.

Vaccine Rollout
The Indian Health Service announced in Early April that Indian Country had received more than 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. While many states initially struggled with vaccine rollout, tribal nations used call centers and existing methods of outreach to contact tribal members to receive the vaccine. The high rates of COVID-19 mortality among many Native American communities has also sped up the vaccine rollout due to what Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez says was "just because of how hard hit the Navajo Nation was, we've seen a big increase in participation in taking the vaccine." As of April 26th, Navajo Nation had reported vaccinating over half of its adult population with the COVID-19 vaccine, outpacing the current national rate of 42.2%. South Dakota's pandemic savaged Rosebud Sioux tribe has reported similar levels of success with vaccine distribution as "Out of the close to 5,000 doses they've received so far, only three have been wasted." According to Siobhan Wescott, MD, MPH who serves as co-director of the Indians into Medicine Program at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, "The Indian Health Service has absolutely been spectacular. They have led the nation, probably the world at this point. Well, Israel might be ahead of them, but it would be close. I believe it's the Blackfeet Nation has already reached herd immunity, with enough people vaccinated."

While there have been initial successes for Indian Country in terms of vaccinating the populations, many tribes still struggle to secure federal recognition for vaccines. Currently, 574 tribes are federally recognized while 245 are without federal recognition and access to the Indian Health Services. This forced tribes like the Chinook Indians in the American Northwest to "have relied on nearby tribes, including the Grande Ronde, to vaccinate their elders."

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/population-care/siobhan-wescott-md-mph-discusses-vaccination-native-american

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/04/26/990884991/outpacing-the-u-s-hard-hit-navajo-nation-has-vaccinated-more-than-half-of-adults

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/04/06/indian-country-reaches-1m-vaccine-doses

https://www.npr.org/2021/02/19/969046248/why-native-americans-are-getting-the-covid-19-vaccines-faster

https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/covid-19-vaccination-american-indian-alaska-native-people/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/18/us/navajo-nation-infection-rate-trnd/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-us-maps-and-cases/