Source::AP
CHEROKEE,
Joyce Dugan did not hesitate before sitting down inside the Cherokee Indian Hospital for her second and final dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. “I’m proud of our hospital,” the 72-year-old former tribal chief said as a nurse quietly prepped her arm. “I’m proud that we’re able to get these shots.”
While minority communities across the United States have struggled to trust the vaccine, the opposite is true for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a Native American tribe of 16,000 in western North Carolina, and other tribes across the country, which were also quick to adopt coronavirus prevention measures.
“We already innately have held on to that cultural tradition of taking care of our community,” said Abigail Echo-Hawk, director of the Seattle Urban Indian Health Institute and a citizen of the 3,000-member Pawnee Nation. “The rest of the United States could learn from us.”
The measures have taken an enormous financial toll. The casino enterprise laid off more than 1,100 workers in January after exhausting federal virus relief funding. It said it might be forced to close permanently if it cannot secure additional funding or partially reopen.
The move helped mend a once fractured relationship between providers and patients. The strong bonds between them have paved the way for the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. “Many of our health care providers have been here for 10, 20 years,” Dr. Rick Bunio, the tribe’s Clinical Director said. “The community trusts them.”
Inside the Eastern Band’s hospital, Dugan exhaled quietly as a nurse pulled the tiny needle from her arm. “I’m relieved for our people, just as much as I am for myself,” she said. “We’ve had to overcome many obstacles in our history. And each time after each obstacle, we’ve become stronger.”
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