On the recordFebruary 3, 2021
I rise to speak on the resolution's investment of $8.6 billion through the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Our Native American brothers and sisters on Tribal lands are four times more likely to contract COVID-19 and twice as likely to die from it. The Navajo Nation has seen extended families ravaged by disease, families like the Muskets, who were careful to protect their elderly parents, Benjamin and Louise, from the virus. Despite taking the necessary precautions and having access to electricity and running water--something many of our Navajo brothers and sisters still lack-- the whole family became ill. Because the overburdened IHS-run medical center closest to them was unable to treat Benjamin's advanced condition, he was flown to one of the nearest hospitals in Albuquerque that would have taken hours to have gotten there by car. He died far from his beloved Louise. Five days later, Louise also passed. In New Mexico, community members and students are still mourning the loss of Laura Escalanti, a beloved Tewa teacher at Pojoaque Valley High School, from San Ildefonso Pueblo. ``Ms. Laura,'' as she was known, imparted on her students pride in themselves through language. Her funeral procession from Ohkay Owingeh to San Ildefonso Pueblo brought mourners out from their homes to the roadways to bid farewell to their teacher of more than 20 years. Sadly, there are too many Native American families and communities mourning loved ones.…
