Many of those outbreaks resulted in catastrophic loss of life, far greater than even the worst-case scenarios for COVID-19. The spread of COVID-19 is reminiscent of previous disease outbreaks that have ravaged Native American communities. Only six states have a higher per capita toll. As of April 23, 1,360 infections and 52 deaths had been reported among the Navajo Reservation’s 170,000 people, a mortality rate of 30 per 100,000. To understand how dire the COVID-19 situation is becoming for these communities, consider the situation unfolding for the Navajo Nation, a people with homelands in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Among the most vulnerable are Native Americans. As the death toll from COVID-19 mounts, people of color are clearly at greater risk than others.
