Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
WASHINGTON, D.C. [3/6/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by the Senate today includes more than $31 billion she pushed to help Tribal governments and urban Indigenous communities in Minnesota and across the country address the health and economic fallout from the pandemic. She said the funding represents the largest single infusion of resources for Tribal Nations in U.S. history.
Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said that during the pandemic, Indigenous Americans who contract COVID-19 have been hospitalized at nearly four times the rate of non-Hispanic white Americans, and they die at nearly twice the rate. The loss of Native elders also threatens the survival of Native languages, traditions, and cultures, she said.
“The ongoing pandemic has hit Tribal communities in Minnesota and across the country especially hard, impacting not only their health care systems, their schools, and their economic well-being, but also the survival of Native culture and traditions,” said Sen. Smith. “The COVID relief package passed by the Senate is a much-needed response to the devastating impact of the virus and it will help Indigenous communities recover and become more resilient.”
Reader Comments(0)