NATIONAL STORY FROM LEFT SHUNDEEN WILLIAMS, MARIE WILLIAMS, KEVIN FURCAP AND GLORIA ERIACHO REST IN THE SHADE AFTER COOKING DINNER. ALL FOUR HAD COME BACK TO CARE FOR THEIR MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN CREDIT: GILES CLASEN SURVIVING COVID ON THE NAVAJO RESERVATION BY GILES CLASEN HAULING WATER Every day Franklin Martin walks to the Chevy truck he inherited from his cousin, who died too young in an alcoholrelated driving accident. Martin’s life has been marked by the loss of loved ones long before COVID-19 came to the Navajo Reservation. Today, however, that loss feels closer than years past because the spread of the coronavirus has hit his people uniquely hard. Martin could replace the truck; it is well over 20 years old and has the miles to match. Still, Martin likes the connection to his past, even the tragedy. He doesn’t want to forget the people he has lost. These days Martin uses the truck to transport water and other supplies to individuals in need on the Bodaway-Gap chapter of the Navajo Reservation. He and his daughter, Alicia Martin, started hauling water and other supplies to individuals living on the Navajo Reservation in March of this year. To live in the Arizona desert without running water requires each family to haul water to their home. Often, Navajo families live on less than 100 gallons of water a week to cook, clean, and drink. The average individual in the United States uses close to 100 gallons of water in a day, but the Navajo Nation has had a precarious relationship with water for years. The Arizona desert is very dry, and the bedrock is difficult to break through. Even if you could dig deep enough to reach water, the uranium mining of past decades has made much of the ground water unsafe for human consumption. THE VIRUS STRIKES Day to day life was difficult enough, then COVID-19 hit. In the early days of COVID, the Navajo Nation had some of the highest case rates for the virus in the United States. The Federal Government did little to help. The situation got so bad that Doctors Without Borders stepped in to help control the spread. The guidelines to stay safe were simple. Wash your hands, wear a mask, and social distance. When water is scarce, it is difficult to follow the guidelines. It is difficult to clean and wash your hands with such little water. It is difficult to social distance when you need to drive into a city center frequently to get more water. Arizona does not have a statewide mask mandate, and outside the reservation, mask usage is somewhat scarce in the smaller cities. As of October 14, there have been 10,780 confirmed cases on the Reservation. That is nearly one case per 30 people. Simply put, the Navajo Nation is not in a strong position to fight COVID-19 without help. THINKING BIGGER At a local level, individuals like Alicia and Franklin also sought to help. “We started collecting supplies and delivering them as soon as we could,” Alicia said. “It’s not right to say, ‘No’ when someone needs help, and people are dying right now. Our people need help.” The work started slowly, as the two learned how to organize a relief team. With permission from the restaurant where she was working, Alicia took water to give to families. Her restaurant had been shuttered due to the virus, and she had been furloughed. She began thinking bigger. In April, Alicia started a GoFundMe campaign and raised $10,000. She brought in help to manage the money and ensure the donations went to supplies for her people. Things were moving rapidly. Then, Franklin was diagnosed with the virus. He spent two weeks in the hospital recovering. By the time the two got back to delivering water and supplies, three family members, Franklin’s aunt, uncle, and cousin, had died from COVID-19. DELIVERING SUPPLIES As the battle with the virus took a personal toll on the Martins, they continued delivering supplies. Cheryl Osorio and her family live in a house that is not connected to the power grid and has no running water. Osorio uses a generator to power her house when needed. She uses her wood stove to cook and purify her water. Osorio and her family hadn’t been willing to drive into Page, Ariz. The city didn’t enact a mask mandate until June 24, and the trip to the tourist town seemed too risky. Osorio is grateful to the Martins for the supply runs, but living conditions on the Reservation remain difficult. “I want to move out of here,” Osorio said. “I feel like we’re forgotten with everybody else getting help. This has been going on a long time. Just with COVID, it’s different now. It is scarier.” The Martins eventually started receiving help from other sources. Compassionate Colorado delivered four trailers of food, water, and cleaning supplies to the Martins in June. (See “Compassionate Colorado Lives up to Its Name” in the Denver VOICE July 2020 issue.) 8 DENVER VOICE November 2020
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