As the country deals with the influx of COVID-19 patients, hospitals have had to find ways to house the patients to receive proper medical care by setting up temporary field hospitals. As of April 28, McKinley County is the hardest hit county in New Mexico with 820 positive tests.

Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services and Gallup Indian Medical Center have cooperated with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to transform the gymnasium at Miyamura High School into just such a center.

The field hospital is described as a safe and comfortable setting where COVID-19 patients can be isolated and monitored during the pandemic, according to the Gallup Alternate Care Facility...

Fifth open field death in April

A man’s body was found behind Earl’s Restaurant on East Highway 66 by someone walking in the area. Gallup Police received a call at 12:16 pm April 27 and headed to the location, where the witness pointed out the body. EMS personnel were dispatched. Information about age and identity has not been released. The body was sent for autopsy.

Details on the other open field deaths this month are gradually becoming available.

The first open field death was on April 4 at 1301 E. Hwy. 66, outside Penny Pincher’s. The man was autopsied.  He was identified 57 year old John Grandal, homeless, and his death was believed to be related to a cardiac issue.

The...

Some members of the Navajo Nation Council want New Mexico officials to close down package liquor stores in towns bordering the Navajo Reservation.

On April 17, an emergency resolution was filed with the Speaker’s Office asking the council to urge the Governor of New Mexico to use her authority to close liquor stores.

The proposed resolution points out that the tribe has imposed a curfew on travel from 8 pm to 5 am as a way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on the reservation.

“Navajo Nation residents are not abiding by the curfew in order to travel to stores selling alcoholic beverages,” the resolution stated.

The resolution also emphasizes that an April 6 notice by the...

Pinto beans and sugar are not enough

Friends and colleagues from across the country have contacted me to express their sorrow, pity and concern for the people of the Navajo Nation. They have seen the stories on national media outlets reporting the alarming incidence of COVID-19 cases on and around the Navajo Reservation, third highest in the nation per capita.

I’m pleased to see a growing awareness of the dire straits and economic circumstances of the Navajo people, as the COVID crisis lays bare the many ways in which an entire sovereign nation - residing within the broader U.S. system - has endured a century-and-a-half of neglect and has been relegated to the “bottom of the...