COVID-19, Medical Care, and Data Sovereignty

Abstract

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, Native American communities were not only heavily impacted by the virus but other socioeconomic factors as well. The Navajo Nation was at the forefront, setting an example for the United States and general public on establishing policies and ground efforts to minimize the spread of the virus through Navajo land. However, as the virus spread, it also revealed the interconnectedness surrounding Indigenous communities and Indigenous women. Through the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Movement, researchers found a lack of data as reports present unreliable and underreported information involving racial misclassification and data genocide. Data regarding Indigenous community COVID-19 statistics reflect historical trauma, especially in the exclusion of Indigenous communities from data sets and analyses used to make health policy decisions. I conclude this article by emphasizing the necessity of including Indigenous sovereign bodies in the dispersal of gathered data sets and establishing an amicable relationship promoting the well-being of Indigenous communities between social scientists and Native communities.