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| Above, inside a Monument Valley Navajo hogan. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It looks like Monument Valley and other tribal parks in the Navajo Nation will remain closed for the time being despite CDC recommendations.
USA Today reported:
Navajo Nation leaders are keeping mask restrictions and social distancing despite a high COVID-19 vaccination rate and CDC recommendations.
As the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading across the world, Graham Beyale at first figured he'd be safe inside his home along the dusty red dirt roads of the Navajo Nation reservation.
But as more and more news came out about how the virus spread— and how quickly— Beyale got nervous. At the time, he was living in a traditional one-room home called a hogan with 11 other people. No running water. No toilet.
Like many of his approximately 400,000 fellow Diné, most of whom live on the 27,000-square-mile reservation sprawling across northern New Mexico, Arizona and a small portion of southern Utah, Beyale, 31, knew medical care could be a long drive away. And the Navajo, who suffer from high rates of diabetes and obesity, have historically been susceptible to viral infections, including the 2009 H1N1 swine flu epidemic.
Frankly, I don't blame the tribal leaders for being extra cautious. A part of the Navajo Nation is just across Interstate 40 from me.
To read more, go here.
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