The Havasupai Tribal Council has voted to extend its suspension of tourism until further notice. The Grand Canyon tribe has been aggressive in its management of the pandemic, and so far, there have been no reported cases of coronavirus in Supai Village.

As the first shipments of coronavirus vaccines go out across the country, health officials are urging Native American communities to participate. But tribal communities have historic reasons to feel wary.

The Navajo Nation continues its COVID-19-related lockdown through the end of December, including 57-hour weekend lockdowns. And that public health order may be extended. The Navajo Area Indian Health Service is overseeing most of the Navajo Nation’s distribution of the Pfizer vaccine, which will begin with health care workers on Tuesday.

The Colorado River Indian Tribes on the western edge of Arizona have the largest share of first-priority Colorado River water rights in the state. Now, the tribal council is proposing to lease some of its water for non-tribal use.

Like a lot of Arizona, Native American reservations in our state rely heavily on tourism. But with the pandemic, fewer people are traveling. And tribal communities have been hit harder than most by the virus. So where does that leave Native American businesses in our state?

The White Mountain Apache Tribe fears a second wave of COVID-19 cases. Nearly 2,800 people have tested positive. More than 20% of the small eastern Arizona tribe have contracted the virus. Most have recovered but 42 people have died. 

On January 27, 1951, the United States detonated its first nuclear device on its own soil — a stretch of the Nevada desert. In 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. However, that compensation has been difficult to obtain, especially for some Navajo Nation residents — known as downwinders.