Bhesta Shahim (U): COVID-19 Tracking in Indigenous Communities

Indigenous Peoples experience alarming rates of inequities and systemic discrimination and also experience disproportionate rates of malnutrition and lack of access to quality healthcare, housing, and clean water. These realities make Indigenous Peoples especially vulnerable to COVID-19 and its effects; however, as COVID-19 continues to spread, Indigenous Peoples are largely being left out of the conversation. Due to the need for data and information disaggregated by Indigenous Peoples, Cultural Survival (CS) is producing a map, using Google Maps technology, to show the situations Indigenous communities are facing as a result of COVID-19, including documenting COVID-19 cases and related human rights violations. Through my research work with Dr. Smith-Morris and Cultural Survival, I have contributed to collecting this important data as well as supervising other students on this work.