Covid Vs. Culture

My Share of the CoronaVirus

Isaiah Dasheno

Santa Clara Pueblo

Isaiah Dasheno- Final Presentation.webm

My Research

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Sharing One Skin

Armstrong, Jeannette, “Sharing one skin”, San Francisco,CA, Sierra Club books, 1996

In an interesting article I read, the author is talking about where she is from and where her family's roots begin. She then describes her traditional and cultural duties, as well as her community's identity separated into four parts. The word Okanagan has four meanings . In the language, Okonogan first means “The ones who are dream and land together”, which is our physical appearances as humans. The second meaning is “The unseen part of our existence”, which can be our dreams as well as our spiritual appearance as humans. The third part is all of humankind being tied into one strand, like a coiled basket. Finally, the last part is “our place on the land”, which is our language we speak. This is a true and well descriptive example of Identity in a Native American Community.

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Native American Identity

(Horse)., Perry, “Native American Identity”, Wiley Periodicals, inc. 2005.


In this article the author argues how much the native communities have grown to be alike the white man in the real world. We are going to their schools, wearing their clothes, talking their language, working their jobs and making payments just like them. In Native American Identity there are two faces to it. Some who know their communities background and know what being Native American is about and then the people who don’t know their surroundings or what life is about. The author also points out that being Indian today is not the same as being Indian two hundred years ago where we were roaming free in our own territories.



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Susceptibility of Southwestern Indian Tribes To CoronaVirus Disease

Kakol, Monika, Dona Upson, and Akshay Sood. "Susceptibility of Southwestern American Indian Tribes to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19)." The Journal of Rural Health (2020) ProQuest. 5 Feb. 2021


The article I am reading is named ‘Susceptibility of Southwestern Indian Tribes To CoronaVirus Disease’. In this article I am reading about it tells us when the Virus started its massive spike it hit all Native American Communities but one in particular is getting harder than any other. The Navajo Nation is the biggest reservation in the United states with many Navajo People. They also have the highest number of deaths and hospital ratings in the United States themselves which is also 7 times more than New Mexico. The Author also states that “Despite the ongoing debate and evolution of scientific understanding, it is accepted that the year1492 triggered the start of a historical merger of the New World (Americas) and the Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa), which introduced new infectious diseases in the New World”. What the author is trying to say is this disease is another deadly virus introduced by the same people who brought other diseases long ago.



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Unmasking The Realities of Covid-19: The Pasifika Community of the Salt Lake City

(Vaughn, Kē, et al. "Unmasking the Essential Realities of COVID‐19: The Pasifika Community in the Salt Lake Valley." Oceania 90 (2020) ProQuest. 5 Feb. 2021 .)


In the article ‘Unmasking The Realities of Covid-19: The Pasifika Community of the Salt Lake City’ people are dying and getting sick because it is almost impossible to Social-Distance. The Pasifika community is a grouped community living in multi-generational homes, a little more than half cases were in one household alone. As well as any other community it is hard to not give someone a hug or visit someone you miss in their homes. A community member states, “Seeing someone that you know, or have a blood relation tie or a tribal connection to, and just waving from afar, there couldn’t be anything more rude to our people, especially with a blood relative or a close relative”.

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Smallpox, Beginnings-1620

Hazlett, Maril. “Smallpox, Beginnings–1620.” Three Worlds Meet, Third Edition, Facts On File, 2017. American Indian History, online.infobase.com, Accessed 22 Feb. 2021.


In the article ‘Smallpox, Beginnings-1620’, the author Maril Hazlett talks about how the Europeans brought over a highly deadly disease. This disease helped the Europeans in taking advantage of the small tribes’ populations and land. The smallpox disease just like the current Coronavirus, travels through the air and immediately enters the respiratory tract. Smallpox has been around Mother Earth for a long time, but was not always deadly. It was not deadly until recordings back in the 1500’s where it took place in a small village in Africa.

Just like the Corona Virus the Smallpox starts off with a very nausea feeling and an unpleasant headache. The small pox can be caught by inhalation through nostrils or from the fluids. The smallpox can threaten the lives of small children all the way up to a grown man. My connections to this deadly disease comes from my community. My community right now suffers the disease of the Coronavirus, Some it will harm and some it will kill. Along with all other communities around the world the disease has wiped out a great number of our population.




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Diseases and Epidemics

“Citing Sources.” The Facts On File Guide to History Research, Facts On File, 2017. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&articleId=367510. Accessed 22 Feb. 2021.


In the article ‘Diseases and Epidemics’, by the author David. A. Guier has told the audience of the past diseases that have struck on Native Americans from the 1600’s till now. The article talks about how there were once recordings of 400,000 Native Americans that lived east of the Appalachian Mountains. After European colonists came there seemed to have been a dramatic rise in death rate. The causing of death rates were caused by outbreaks of numerous deadly diseases that were not familiar to Native American Communities. Diseases came mostly from the European Colonists but some were said to have come all the way from Africa.

In New Mexico Pueblo communities and surrounding tribes have been visited by just not European Colonists but Spanish Invaders as well. Both invaders brought deadly diseases along with them to take the winning advantage of taking over Indian Communities. In my community there are stories of my people once going through an outrageous outbreak, already losing a high count of people. The Conquistadors and Spanish communities spread diseases throughout the United States just as much as the European Colonists did. There has never been a familiar disease in our community where we lost so many people until invaders came overseas and came in contact with our people.



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Covid In the Desert

COVID-19 on the nile: Review on the management and outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic in the arab republic of egypt from february to august 2020. (2021). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1588. doi:http://dx.doi.org.sfis.idm.oclc.org/10.3390/ijerph18041588



In the remote country of Africa and the city of Egypt the CoronaVirus has again become an evil visitor. The first case to ever happen in Egypt happened on the 14th of February, 2020. The first case happened to be a German Citizen, which The United States Of America first reported their first cases from Egypt Tourists. By May 1st a total of 5,537 cases were reported in Egypt along with 269 deaths, which came from a cruise ship that came in from Luxor. The summer of 2020 had a dramatic spike in cases, the cumulative count reported in the nation was 24,985,68,311 along with 4,805 deaths. Covid-19 not only harmed civilians, but health workers as well, leading Egypt to be 7th out of 10 in countries for highest deaths of health workers.

Similar to Egypt, America has had a lot of bad experiences with the CoronaVirus. Health Workers are risking their lives around the world to take care of sick patients, and some may have lost their lives trying. It is sad and fascinating to see how fast a virus can spread and what it can do to our people. Families all over the world are fighting to keep their own alive and keep everyone safe. But there is only so much to do when other people such as outsiders have too much pride to follow the rules or keep their distance, much less stay at home. In the article the author claims, ¨However, the study was highly controversial and gave rise to public disagreement, prompting queries from researchers on some of the assumptions and methods used by Tuite and colleagues,¨ which proves that some people don't believe in some safe practices.



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Skunked By Covid

Berry, K., & Watson, B. (2020, Aug 31). Historic Bristol bay, Alaska salmon fishery dealing with latest challenge: COVID-19. The Conversation U.S. Retrieved from https://www-proquest-com.sfis.idm.oclc.org/newspapers/historic-bristol-bay-alaska-salmon-fishery/docview/2487140774/se-2?accountid=39531


In Bristol Bay, Alaska the community members are losing profit due to the CoronaVirus. The citizens of Bristol Bay, Alaska make their profits off of selling a wild species of Stock-eye Salmon. Since there have been more strict restrictions, fishing companies have had to shut down their businesses due to outbreaks. These fisherman companies are used to catching salmon that we eat at restaurants all over the world, and now there are none being bought or sold at this time. The author discusses that the Indigenous people of Alaska have been harvesting these species of salmos for thousands of years and more. Alaskan people talk about how this would not be the first time this has happened to the people. The people recall a similar devastation in 1918, which was the deadly Influenza virus.

Traditions have been done for thousands of years, done by so many people, and fought for by our forefathers . It only takes a world pandemic to put all of our cultures and traditions on a halt. For more than a year now my community has not experienced a traditional feast or ceremonies that should have taken place. Many traditions and cultures have been stopped around the world due to Covid-19, especially the Indigenous fishermen of Alaska. To some people fishing can be a sport or a hobby, but to these people it is their jobs to get money, and their way of lives to be carried on. The author states, ¨Fishermen wonder if all the trouble is even worth their time. The reduction in demand has resulted in a dramatic fall in prices, making fishermen question whether they will break even,¨ which means that people would not risk their families or themselves but sometimes have no choice if they want to make money. ¨