When Activities Coordinator Silver Little Eagle, 23, first put a call out on the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s Elderly Program Facebook page for pen pal participants, she didn’t know what to expect. Then letters started pouring in.

“When they first got their letters they were kind of surprised that they got that much attention,” said Little Eagle. “They were thinking they were about to get a few letters or so. But each person got around 40 letters in the first batch of mail.”

And that was just the first round. 

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, as community after community went into lockdown, social media played a big role in keeping people connected, through apps like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and new efforts like the Social Distance Powwow Facebook group. But innovative cyber hangouts often left elders and Indigenous communities without internet access behind. Six months into the pandemic, Little Eagle decided she needed a way to engage the Northern Cheyenne elders, who were also largely cut off from visitors for their own safety. 

Typically, the program’s Facebook page is focused on local outreach around the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s reservation of roughly five thousand people and the surrounding community of Lame Deer, Montana. Little Eagle thought they’d mostly get replies from people who utilized the Elderly Program who lived off site, as dining hall meals and social activities had all been cancelled for several months by then. 

“We were just trying to keep our elders social while we’re in this social distancing area,” Little Eagle said. “So, we decided to do the pen pal program with residents of the Shoulderblade Complex, which is an independent living facility.”

The request for letters included the Northern Cheyenne Elderly Program’s mailing address and images of the ten Shoulderblade Complex residents, along with their names and their interests, like “Fred, interested in Bingo,” and “Adeline, interested in language preservation and revitalization.”

In the months since, every two weeks, each elder has received upwards of 40 letters from places as far away as Germany and Ireland.

“We have a lot from Canada, and a lot of the Canada ones are from other Indigenous communities,” Little Eagle said. “And a lot of them send stamps with them. It’s pretty crazy. We’re gonna get a map where we’re going to pin down where each letter came from.” 

What started as a way to keep social connections for isolated elders quickly grew into a global community. Four days after the pen pal program launched, popular social justice activist collective, Seeding Sovereignty, reposted the Elderly Program’s Facebook post on it’s Instagram page which has 230,000 followers. It received 46,886 likes.  

“It kind of surprised us when we saw it on Instagram,” Little Eagle said. “A lot of people began sending things that were needed for COVID-19, like boxes and boxes of sanitizer or things on our Amazon wishlist.”

The extra supplies came just as COVID-19 cases began to surge in their area.

“The past month we had, I think, 200-something cases on the rez, which is pretty small. But our rez is also pretty small, so there’s a large percentage,” Little Eagle said. 

In the beginning of the pandemic, the Elderly Program began doing curbside meal pick-up for elders. Later into the summer, as COVID-19 cases rose, they switched to doorstep delivery. They apply the same level of caution with the letters pouring in.

“We distribute every two weeks,” Little Eagle said. “We usually sort them first and use the PPE…and then we place them in Ziploc bags to quarantine them, because we saw online that (the coronavirus) stays on paper for a day, or 24 hours, so that’s why we quarantine our mail, and then hand them to the residents in Ziploc bags.”

It’s a lot of work for the nine staff members to keep up with, Little Eagle said, as the mail piles in, they also have to keep up with their other programs. 

“It’s been hard to fit it into our daily schedule with everything else we do here,” said Little Eagle. “We have a feeding program, which feeds about 180 elders a day, and we deliver those meals to door steps. We also have a distribution program for PPE, and a food box/grocery run.”

But Little Eagle is quick to add that the payoff of the program is invaluable for them, elder residents, and communities beyond. 

“We’ve been in contact with the Oglala Lakota Elderly Program, and we don’t know how yet, but we’re planning to set up a program with our outside elders, so the ones that utilize our feeding program and the elders that utilize their feeding program,” she said.

Right now the Elderly Program is getting a flier out to poll the elders that use their  program to see if they’re interested in participating.

“I think this really just opened our eyes on how to address different levels of health, besides our feeding program,” Little Eagle said. “We have to make sure their mental health is okay and their physical and emotional health, and that just comes with checking in with them, and making sure that they’re happy, and that’s just the biggest part in this COVID-19, is being sure they are happy and their well-being is okay.” 

Little Eagle said she looks forward to a time, post pandemic, when elders can start to socialize in person once more.  

“I can’t wait until we open again,” she said, “because I was on a roll with activities.”

Meanwhile, letters and donations continue to roll in, as staff post regular updates to their Facebook page. The latest donation made this week was from Indigneous punk band “1876,” donating all the profits from a recent album release “Pow Wow Punk Rock,” for food and household items.

by Christine Trudeau

At 26, Megan Heller has not one, but two master’s degrees from Eastern Washington University. But after classes moved online early and a virtual graduation in the spring because of the pandemic, Heller had no luck finding a job. 

 “I probably applied for about fifty jobs,” Heller said. “I got a lot of ‘positions were canceled due to funding limits.’ Entry level jobs that I applied for said I didn’t have enough experience or I didn’t meet the qualifications or they just didn’t get back to me.”

Heller, a citizen of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians near Spokane, Washington, moved back in with her parents following graduation. She was able to save a little money living rent free and babysitting for family members as they went to work. Like many graduates this spring, Heller was left with very few options.

Donna Feir, a Research Fellow with the Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said that those entering into the labor force just out of school are doing so at a particularly bad time. 

“Obviously unemployment rates rose dramatically in April after the onset of pandemic,” says Feir, “this is particularly challenging for Indigenous Americans where unemployment rates increase much more dramatically than any other demographic group.”  

An August report by Feir found that despite a slight rebound to the employment rate since April, employment for Native Americans is still well behind that for the white workforce. Feir’s survey focuses on people over 25 years of age. She said through no fault of their own, young people having difficulty finding work might be affected throughout their careers. 

“Unemployment rates generally rose very dramatically and we know if you are an individual who is entering the labor force in an economic downturn this can sometimes have a permanent impact on your wages and attachment to the labor force throughout your life course,” Feir said. 

Across the country tribes and Native communities are pulling together,

accessing traditional family and community support to cope with the virus threat and the ongoing economic setbacks. Food donation and delivery drives, youth-led initiatives to provide masks, hand sanitizer, and information on social distancing and other preventative measures, and tribal officials closing reservation borders have all helped keep people alive and afloat.

Heller counts herself among those relying on that family support. So does Ashley Nicole Hamilton, who is also back at home after graduating from Harvard University in the spring. Unlike Heller, Hamilton, 22, had a fellowship lined up after receiving her bachelor’s degree in sociology. A citizen of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Hamilton started in June as the Wilma Mankiller Fellow in Tribal Governance with the National Congress of American Indians.

“I recognize that I’m in a very unique situation to, one, get a job during a pandemic, but also be able to keep it and know that I’ll be able to have this job,” Hamilton said.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. When Harvard closed down in March, college officials gave students living on campus five days to vacate their dorms. With no financial help from the school and unable to get storage nearby, Hamilton said it made more sense to rent a truck and drive to to her job in Washington, D.C.  At the time, she thought she’d be starting her job in person, but NCAI decided she should work remotely for the foreseeable future. She returned to South Sioux City, Neb. and says, in the months since, working from home has been good, allowing her to reconnect with family.

 “I feel like I’ve healed in a way from the four years of being away,” said Hamilton. “Healing mentally, physically, and emotionally and learning more about myself. Like what situations I thrive in. What situations I don’t thrive in. Understanding that having my family, having a good community around is necessary. I’m not saying that at Harvard I didn’t have a great community of friends, I just think that the lifestyle of living in the dorms, not being able to cook my own food, not being connected to my food and to more of a home routine really affected me a lot. Being home has healed that in a way, and especially being close to my family.”

Hamilton also got a dog over the summer named Winnie, who has been a companion between work and occasionally grocery shopping.

 “I think because Nebraska never really issued any sort of lockdown stay-at-home orders statewide, the pandemic has felt very consistent for me and in the sense that I’m still following the same guidelines that I was following in March,” Hamilton said.

Thankfully, Hamilton said, COVID-19 case numbers have remained relatively low for her tribe. When her fellowship finishes up in May, she has her heart set on studying Indian law, but remains cautious. 

“I know with the pandemic anything can change in an instant, and so I want to start planning for options so I don’t end up in a position where I don’t have a plan or I don’t have a job or anything like that,” she said. “I just want to know what my options are, but I’m not really getting my hopes up on any of them because, you know, there’s a pandemic. So, I’m just ready for anything to change in an instant.”

Reconnecting with family and community is also a source of healing for Megan Heller.

“I’ve been trying to tell myself that it was an extended vacation, like a reset from school, because school was so stressful,” says Heller. “I would spend a lot of time outside, whether it’s just walking around or going for hikes in the nearby area.”

Washington was the first state hit hard by COVID-19. Gov. Jay Inslee enacted stay-at-home orders early. Heller credits the Kalispel Tribe for taking quick, providing antibody testing, giving out masks and other measures. When supplies were scarce, they organized donation drives to local food banks to help those in Spokane County, both tribal members and non-members alike.  

“I think it’s been going relatively well, considering the situation,” Heller said. “My immediate family, we’ve all been safe as well as my extended family who are up here in Washington. Everybody’s been good about social distancing and wearing masks.”

Four months into her job hunt, fortunes finally turned. She started a new job as the Human Resources Compensation Specialist this week for her tribe. Though not her dream job yet, Heller says the position provides some financial security and a foot in the door. Down the line, she hopes the Kalispel Tribe opens a position for economic development and environmental protection when they are able to resume normal operations.  Heller’s degrees are in public administration and urban and regional planning. Her thesis was on tribes planning for climate change. She is eager to put her passions to work and looks forward to the day she can help her tribe diversify economically and plan for a sustainable future. But for the moment she’s just glad to get back to work.

“I’m eager to get back to having a routine, letting go of the stress and worries I was having about not knowing what the future will hold, ” Heller said. “Not that I know now, but about the way that bills weren’t going to be paid, or what I was going to do if I couldn’t find a job for a long time. Now I can focus on my professional development… and my professional goals, where I want to go one day within the tribe and the kind of career path I want.”

This story is a collaboration between National Native News and the Solutions Journalism Network

Family support, adjusting expectations help Native grads facing historically high unemployment
Megan Heller has not one, but two master’s degrees from Eastern Washington University. But after graduating in the spring she had no luck finding a job.  “I probably applied for about fifty jobs,” she said. “I got a lot of ‘positions were canceled due to funding limits.’ Entry level jobs that I applied for said I didn’t have enough experience or I didn’t meet the qualifications or they just didn’t get back to me.” New research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis finds those entering the labor force just out of school are doing so at a particularly bad time. Ever after a slight rebound, Native American unemployment rates remain well behind those for the population as a whole. Heller and other Native graduates find family support and a flexible outlook are helping them navigate through.

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Navajo Nation marks significant COVID-19 milestone
Sept. 10, 2020

The Navajo Nation reported its second day of no additional COVID-19 deaths in three days. After months of strict lockdowns, curfews and public admonishments from tribal leaders, tribal health officials report dwindling numbers of new cases. Twice within a matter of days, the Navajo Nation marked a significant milestone that the Nation’s largest reservation hasn’t seen since March. It’s all the more important as the tribe continues to climb toward a total that nears 10-thousand COVID-19 deaths. The Nation once outpaced every state in the country for the number of deaths from the disease.

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‘Unprecedented’ donation to offset student COVID-19 challenges
August 4, 2020

The American Indian Graduate Center is among the non-profits benefiting from a major philanthropic effort by writer MacKenzie Scott. The donation given by Scott, ex-wife to Amazon CEO, billionaire Jeff Bezos, is an unprecedented $20-million.  It’s the largest individual donor gift in unrestricted funds over AIGC’s 50-year history.

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UNITY conference goes virtual
July 8, 2020

The United National Indian Tribal Youth, organization, or UNITY, is going virtual for their annual conference this year because of the ongoing pandemic. UNITY Executive Director Mary Kim Titla says as Native youth continue to play a vital role in tribal communities combating COVID-19, it’s important for them to take time to connect with peers at workshops, share talents, and build on self-care techniques to help navigate stress and anxiety amid lock-downs and isolation.

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Musical initiative offers safety message to young people
July 6, 2020

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation collaborated with local musicians to launch a COVID-19 youth safety awareness campaign. So far, following the release of their second hip-hop song, they’re seeing a successful response in their community’s youth. The series, with a targeted social media campaign, is aimed at 12 to 18-year-olds. In a written release, CSKT officials say the song series was “driven by concerns that youth may not be responding to COVID-19 prevention guidelines.”

 

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Suzan Harjo says she’s twice tested positive for coronavirus
June 18, 2020

First tested on May 19, prominent Native American rights advocate Suzan Harjo says she’s tested positive for Covid-19Suzan Harjo has recently tested again and came up positive a second time for the coronavirus. Harjo is currently making her way through her second round of quarantine.

“I have been reading and writing and talking to people and working; you just continue your life,” Harjo said. “You continue your life with more care for others and prioritize your time.”

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White Mountain Apache Tribe is upping strict safety measures as positive Covid-19 cases rise
June 15, 2020

The White Mountain Apache Tribe reached 1,259 reported positive COVID-19 cases. The sudden surge, according to Tribal Chairwoman Gwendena Lee-Gatewood, is likely due an increase in testing and contact tracing. The tribe is on stay-at-home orders, with an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, and is closed to non-tribal citizens and tribal members not living on the reservation.

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Overcoming potential COVID-19 barriers to voting
June 10, 2020

The Native American Rights Fund outlines ways to avoid potential voting barriers as states consider safety options during the COVID-19 pandemic. NARF organizers say any move to an entirely vote-by-mail system would be a big problem for Native voters, with the potential to disenfranchise many. They point out it’s not uncommon for items to get misplaced or delivered to the wrong person in the process of picking up and distributing mail from a shared PO box, making the wait to get mail delivered longer, sometimes taking up to a month.

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Protecting Human Rights and sovereignty during the pandemic
May 27, 2020

The Native American Rights Fund and the University of Colorado Law School have teamed up and launched a new online legal resource to help Tribal self-determination efforts during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

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Native domestic abuse line adds service to help survivors during pandemic
May 20, 2020

As Covid-19 safety restrictions amped up across the country in March, StrongHearts Native Helpline initially saw a dip in their calls. The organization’s director points to the possibility that survivors sheltering in place at home with an abusive partner find it difficult to make a phone call when they need help. StrongHearts  launched a new online chat function to better assist Native American and Alaska Native people experiencing abuse.

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Emergency aid for students helps with student housing, utilities and travel
May 15, 2020

When schools started shutting down back in March, the American Indian Graduate Center began a designated Student Emergency Fund outside of their initial awarded scholarship dollars.

“It comes down to student emergency needs,” Executive Director Angelique Albert said. “They are no longer on campuses, so they are no longer in the dorms, so they have housing needs, they have food needs, and we’re having to respond to make sure that they can just say in college.”

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