The Nez Perce and Coeur d’Alene tribes have both suffered the impacts of COVID-19, along with other Idaho residents. Sticking together while staying apart and valuing the health of all were common themes for both communities, but tribal government responses and other details differed.
The Nez Perce Tribe (Nimiipuu people)
As of July 23, Nimiipuu Health reported 24 positive COVID-19 cases on the Nez Perce reservation, which includes portions of Clearwater, Idaho, Lewis and Nez Perce Counties. Nimiipuu Health has tested 693 people for COVID-19.
According to Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee Chairman Shannon Wheeler, the Nez Perce tribe formed an incident command group March 10, suspended non-essential travel March 12, closed the tribal casino March 17 and declared a public health emergency March 18, at which point all non-essential staff were put on paid leave. A stay-home order was put in place March 27.
A food distribution center was also assembled to serve Nez Perce tribal community members. Earlier in the summer, a buffalo hunting party retrieved resources from Yellowstone and delivered food to those in need, Wheeler said.
Members of the Nez Perce tribe have higher rates of heart disease, hypertension and other underlying conditions which put people at higher risk for complications from contracting COVID-19, Wheeler said, so the community has worked together to protect the outbreak through social distancing and isolation.
“The changes in the community, of course, are many,” Wheeler said. “As tribal people, we are very social with pow wows and dinners, name givings, just all kinds of different events, sporting activities. Birthday parties are large, the whole families come. And those types of clusters of people aren’t good at this time during the pandemic, so a lot of our people have missed out on that.”
Nez Perce tribal members have also missed meeting in sweat lodges, a highly social event where men or women will get together for prayer, song and communication. Burials have also been impacted. The ceremony surrounding burial can last 24 hours, but this period of mourning for grieving loved ones has been cut short and altered to protect those living from the spread of COVID-19.
“Those are some of the major impacts that we have faced and some of the sharpest criticism we’ve faced as well,” Wheeler said. “To have to pull back and say ‘we can’t do that at this time,’ for long-term traditions we’ve had, we’ve had to break away from those traditions through this pandemic time, so those have been difficult times for people who would pray in a certain way or mourn in a certain way.”
Jeanette Moody, a second year University of Idaho law student and legal intern for the Nez Perce tribe, said the Nez Perce community had a good initial response to the pandemic.
Moody is a non-traditional student, so when UI switched to online coursework, she studied alongside her children and husband, who were also studying and working from home. Her previous supervisor, an attorney running the Nez Perce tribal court system, encouraged her to go to law school, saying she’d make a good attorney. She hopes to take the bar for Idaho once she graduates and eventually work as an attorney for the Nez Perce tribe.
“Law school is hard enough and then you throw in ‘now we’re all just going by Zoom,’” Moody said. “I think the school tried to prepare us. It was abrupt because it happened during spring break.”
When Moody’s internship began in May, she returned to the office to find cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer for every employee. She can work in the office now because the building provides enough distance between workspaces and offices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with proper sanitization and masking protocols.
“Because we did have quite a few cases directly on the reservation with tribal members, I think that was scary for the whole tribal community, but it was nice to see people step up for those families and try to help out as much as they could,” Moody said.
The Nez Perce tribe has been working with Idaho Gov. Brad Little to discuss possible financial assistance for the tribe, Wheeler said. Grant opportunities are also being pursued and committee is working to establish needs throughout the tribe and prioritize spending.
“We’re all in this together,” Wheeler said. “We need to work together to secure the safety of those most vulnerable. That has always been the intention of the Nez Perce tribe and to serve those families in need. This is a time to respect one another and respect one another’s space and to help where you can when you can, to do your part.”
The Coeur d’Alene (Schitsu’umsh) Tribe
As of July 24, Marimn Health was monitoring 13 active COVID-19 cases on the Coeur d’Alene reservation, which sits between Kootenai and Benewah Counties. Marimn Health has had 58 cases on the reservation and run 1,486 tests for COVID-19. The center has tested tribal members, community members, employees of tribal entities and current patients, according to Marimn Health Director of Strategic Development Heather Keen.
At first, Marimn Health partnered with Panhandle Health District, which serves Kootenai and Benewah counties, Keen said. But the Marimn Health team later realized they could conduct contact tracing for community members quicker than PHD, so they created a response team instead.
Healthcare staff from Marimn Health were redistributed throughout the community early in the pandemic to ensure the entire community had access to healthcare. Those who come to the physical facility for treatment must also abide by specific guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Coeur d’Alene tribe issued a stay-home order March 20, five days before Idaho did, Coeur d’Alene tribe Public Relations Director Jennifer Fletcher said. The tribal government, local schools and the tribal casino all shut down and stores had limited service hours.
“(The Coeur d’Alene tribal government) has responded with so much humanity and grace, the community and their employees as well,” Fletcher said.
Employees of the Coeur d’Alene tribe were paid full salaries and benefits while on leave due to COVID-19, although Fletcher said this couldn’t be sustained indefinitely. The Coeur d’Alene tribal community rallied together to ensure children still received schooling and elders of the tribe received care. Shopping hours specifically for elderly community members were put in place so elders could shop with increased social distancing while the Older Americans Program sent necessary supplies to elders first.
“It’s been extremely impressive to watch the leadership take the reins and do what was necessary and do the right thing by the people, what needed to be done as opposed to what they could do,” Fletcher said. “They really came through for everybody.”
The Coeur d’Alene tribe has not received any federal or state-based monetary assistance in response to COVID-19, Fletcher said. Since there are no guarantees of external aid, even from the delayed $8 billion COVID-19 CARES Act funding intended for Native American communities, the Coeur d’Alene tribe is working to ensure they will not have to rely on outside help, Fletcher said.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]