With over seven thousand positive COVID-19 cases and over 300 deaths, the Navajo Nation and it's 350,000 members in the American Southwest, has the worst per capita outbreak in America, beating out former hotspot New York. To learn more about what is happening there, National Chief Perry Bellegarde speaks with Shawnell Damon, who is leading the epidemiology response to COVID-19 for the Navajo Area Indian Health Service. She and the National Chief discuss how a lack of healthcare, access to water and overcrowded homes have all helped feed the pandemic, and what lessons the Navajo Nation has learned about how to prevent this kind of outbreak from happening again.

A special thanks goes out to the Red Dog Singers of Treaty 4 territory in Saskatchewan, for providing the theme music for this podcast.

The Ahkameyimok Podcast is produced in Ottawa by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.

davidrcmcguffin@gmail.com