[Democracy Now] As COVID Surges in L.A., Hard-Hit Indigenous Communities Fight to Preserve Life, Culture & Language

As Los Angeles County reports record COVID-19 infections, overflowing hospitals and record death tolls, we look at how Indigenous communities there are among the hardest hit in working-class neighborhoods, where many are essential workers. “Indigenous people, we don’t have the privilege to stay home and not go to work,” says Odilia Romero, co-founder and executive … Read more

[Brookings] Missed opportunities to understand racism in the COVID-19 era

Randall Akee and KJ Ward Thursday, May 13, 2021 Recent events have made clear the pervasive and continuing animus towards various race and ethnic groups in the U.S. The current COVID-19 epidemic has become the latest impetus for acting on old biases of “otherness” or not belonging towards Asians and baselessly holding them responsible for … Read more

[NPR] Randy Akee interviewed on “Relief for Native Americans will go beyond expanded vaccine distribution”

Native Americans have been among the hardest hit by COVID-19. They have been more than three times as likely to get the virus as white Americans. In response to the crisis, many tribal communities pushed their efforts and are reporting high vaccination rates. On top of that, the most recent COVID-19 relief bill, which was … Read more

[The Guardian] Exclusive: indigenous Americans dying from Covid at twice the rate of white Americans

Assistant Professor Desi Lonebear Rodriguez quoted in the article— Covid is killing Native Americans at a faster rate than any other community in the United States, shocking new figures reveal. American Indians and Alaskan Natives are dying at almost twice the rate of white Americans, according to analysis by APM Research Lab shared exclusively with … Read more

[Newsday] Why are so many Native Americans dying of Covid?

More than one million people around the world have now died from Covid-related illnesses. The United States has recorded the greatest number of deaths – with more than 200,000 recorded – but within the US, Native Americans have suffered far more deaths than other communities. Dr Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear is a Northern Cheyenne tribal citizen, and … Read more

[The New Republic] How to Make a Deadly Pandemic in Indian Country

Assistant Professor Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear quoted in the article— How to Make a Deadly Pandemic in Indian Country From the 1918 Spanish flu to Covid-19, broken treaties have been the foundation of health crises among Native people. Nick Martin/July 22, 2020 In 1868, four years after the Navajo Nation was forcibly removed from its homelands in … Read more

[UCLA Newsroom] Interactive map will crowdsource hate crime reports

Resource created by UCLA American Indian Studies Center could fill gap created by inconsistent data nationwide Jessica Wolf | October 29, 2020 Los Angeles County recorded 524 hate crimes reported in 2019, the most since 2009. And although the annual number of hate crimes is far less than its recent peak of 1,031 in 2001, … Read more

US Census Response Rates on American Indian Reservations in the 2020 Census and in the 2010 Census

US Census Response Rates on American Indian Reservations in the 2020 Census and in the 2010 Census Randall Akee Paul Ong Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear May 15, 2020 The U.S. Census is the backbone of the U.S. official statistics system. A decennial census is constitutionally mandated to determine proportional representation in Congress. It also provides population counts … Read more

[The Guardian] Why Native Americans took Covid-19 seriously: ‘It’s our reality’

Faculty member, Professor Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear quoted in the article— In the first few weeks of 2020, as president Donald Trump dismissed and mocked warnings about a novel virus killing people faraway in China, Native American leaders were taking the deadly threat seriously. And they were right. The infection rate among the Navajo Nation has now … Read more

[ABC News] Pandemic shows need for Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders participation in census

Professor Randy Akee quoted in the article— For decades, government officials have struggled to accurately count Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders nationwide. Members have been mislabeled or gone uncounted because of an unwillingness or inability to participate in the census. Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau undertakes a massive effort to count the American … Read more