Now Is Not the Time to Travel to the Indigenous Peoples of the United States.
With the COVID-19 pandemic heralding a return to travel, there has been a lot of traffic in places like parks and other natural wonders. This includes many indigenous popular destinations in the United States such as Antelope Canyon, Havasu Falls, and Glacier National Park.
By now, you probably (hopefully) know that when planning your trip, you need to clarify state and local travel restrictions. But in some parts of the country, it is also important to check and comply with the restrictions set by the indigenous peoples in the region. And right now, many are asking us to refrain from visiting their territories due to fears of COVID. Here’s what you need to know.
What is Tribal Sovereignty?
If your high school class missed (or completely missed) a lesson on tribal sovereignty, here’s a quick reminder. According to the National Congress of the American Indian , there are 574 federally recognized Indian nations in the United States.
About 229 of these are in Alaska, with the rest located in 35 other states. Each of these indigenous nations is sovereign , which means that they are self-governing and their laws are separate from the state that their territory belongs to.
Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19
Like other communities of color in the United States, Indigenous peoples have been disproportionately affected by COVID. But long before the pandemic, systemic health imbalances caused Native citizens to die more often than other Americans in many categories, including chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes, unintentional injury, assault / homicide, and willful self-harm / suicide. … and chronic diseases of the lower respiratory tract.
COVID-19 is no exception: According to the Centers for Disease Control, infection rates among indigenous people are 3.5 times higher than among whites, including among younger people who contract the virus. To slow the spread of infection in their communities, indigenous peoples exercise their sovereignty – in the form of travel restrictions – to protect their health.
Understanding travel restrictions
If you are planning to visit any places within Indigenous Peoples, please check their COVID Travel Guidelines first. For example, the Navajo National Parks and Recreation Areas are currently closed. “Stay home and be safe,” Louise Ciniginni, a park media spokeswoman, told Fodor’s . “This is so that people can come in the future, so that we protect people and our spaces for everyone.”
In some cases, indigenous peoples’ COVID restrictions can be found on their websites, as in the case of the Blackfoot Nation , the Havasupai tribe and the Hopi tribe . Some states’ travel websites, such as Montana , New Mexico, and South Dakota , are also useful resources, offering links to travel restrictions in their indigenous peoples.
Pandemic or not, it’s a good idea to take the time to study the laws of any indigenous people you plan to visit and show respect while you are there.