COVID-19, Indian Reservations, and Self-Determination

Our colleagues Adam Crepelle and Ilya Shapiro have released a new policy paper on “COVID-19, Indian Reservations, and Self-Determination.”

COVID-19 is the most recent example of the vulnerability of American Indian reservations to pandemic disease. The Navajo Nation’s COVID-19 infection rate is higher than that of any US state—even New York. This is especially puzzling when considering population density. The Navajo Nation encompasses over 27,000 square miles and has a population of about 150,000 people. By contrast, New York City, where most of New York’s COVID-19 cases are concentrated, has 8 million plus residents in just over 300 square miles.

The economic and health situation on reservations exacerbates the challenge of responding to the current pandemic. Tribal unemployment rates were 50 percent or higher on many reservations before the pandemic. According to the Indian Health Service, which serves approximately 2.6 million American Indians and Alaskan natives, reservation Indians suffer more from all major categories of disease than the rest of the United States. For example, they have nearly triple the rate of diabetes compared to the US average. This disparity is significant, because diabetes is a major comorbidity with COVID-19 fatalities.

Tribes are doing their best to protect their citizens from COVID-19. The Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux have installed checkpoints on all roads leading into their reservations as part of their crisis response, though they only have a handful of cases on their reservations. Despite their vulnerability, South Dakota’s governor, Kristi Noem, attempted to force the tribes to remove the checkpoints. The federal government has also threatened to withhold aid from tribes unless they turn over tremendous amounts of data unrelated to COVID-19. These actions symbolize much of Indian relations with the state and federal governments: a lack of respect for tribal sovereignty, even when it comes to preserving the health and safety of US citizens on tribal land.

You can read the full piece at Mercatus.org.