COVID-19 Daily News Digest – August 31, 2020
Death of Indigenous Elders in Pandemic Could Extinguish Whole Languages
Almost a month after the death of 71-year-old indigenous leader Aritana Yawalapiti by Covid-19, his eldest son Tapi Yawalapiti recounts his daily conversations with his father, one of the most important and respected leaders of the peoples of the Xingu Indigenous Territory
Aritana, respected leader among peoples of the Xingu Indigenous Territory, had Yawalapiti and Kamayurá ancestry and spoke ten languages.
Brazil surpasses 120,000 Covid-19 deaths
The country of 212 million people has now registered 120,262 deaths from the virus and 3,846,153 infections, the health ministry said in its daily update.
Brazil is just the second country to surpass a death toll of 120,000 in the pandemic, after the United States, where the number killed is now more than 182,000.
https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/08/620538/brazil-surpasses-120000-covid-19-deaths
Indigenous professors cite racism, lack of reform in University of Saskatchewan exodus
Scribe drew international acclaim in the spring when COVID-19 restrictions forced schools to close. His Think Indigenous online classes for elementary school students quickly attracted tens of thousands of followers on Facebook and YouTube.
Scribe said he knew universities could be intimidating places for Indigenous people when he accepted the job six years ago, but it eventually became unbearable.
“Universities were founded by and created for white guys. We sign up knowing it’s going to be a fight for our Indigenous students,” Scribe said.
Covaxin’s 2nd phase of human clinical trials to begin from September
With the first phase of the human clinical trials of India’s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, giving a green signal for being safe to use — the second phase will now be conducted by the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) and Sum Hospital in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar next week.Reports said that many people have approached the hospital to volunteer for the second phase of the clinical trial. The volunteers will be screened thoroughly before being selected for the vaccine shots. Moreover, only healthy individuals will be selected for vaccine administration in the second round.
Jonathan Nez leads Navajo Nation members during COVID-19 pandemic
Due to the pandemic, we are also stepping up our campaign to promote healthy eating to strengthen our immune systems by eating the produce from our local farms. Farming and cultivating healthy foods are becoming more common among our people because we challenged them to grow their own produce. Our public health orders also encourage physical activity during lockdowns.
Non-Navajo US citizens have asked how they can help the Navajo Nation. In response, we ask them to call their representatives and senators and demand there be a better relationship with tribes throughout the country. We have stood strong, not only for the Navajo Nation, but all tribes throughout the country.
School on the land: Indigenous teachings get kids outside the classroom
Just before her regular school year started, 18-year-old Isabella Zeller-Calihoo spent a day in late August learning to scrape a moose hide in her auntie’s backyard in Edmonton. The full-day process is a workout. It’s also a lesson in biology, chemistry and art.
As her auntie explained, once the fur is scraped off the hide, the next steps for tanning involve softening the hide with brains and colouring it with smoke. And as her mother explained, every animal has exactly enough brain material to cover an entire hide.
Crow programs work to reduce spread of virus, and preserve the culture
“Of billions of people in the world, we only have just shy of 15,000 Crow people,” Singer said. “We’re always losing some part of our culture, language and customs — our way of life. If this virus hits home enough it could potentially wipe out entire clans and entire families.”
Singer, whose Crow name is Does Good Deeds, 32, lives near Garryowen on the Crow Indian Reservation. She belongs to the Greasy Mouth Clan, and is a child of the Big Lodge Clan.
Nisga’a warn of suspected COVID-19 exposure following funeral of renowned leader Joseph Gosnell Sr.
The Nisga’a Valley Health Authority wants all attendees at a memorial, funeral, or settlement feast in Gitlaxt’aamiks from August 21 to 25 to contact their health authority.
In addition, the NVHA points out that those who attended services on August 24 and 25 must begin 14 days of self-isolation. In addition, they must adhere to travel restrictions and participate in lab testing and contact tracing.
Indigenous perspective continues to be shared at B.C. Gold Rush historic park
Although COVID-19 has stopped them from passing around drums and artifacts to visitors, Chapman and Retasket said they did not think once about not coming back to Barkerville for the remaining 2020 season.
“I’m really happy that Barkerville has made room for us to create dialogue,” he said. “I don’t know everything but I don’t know of another place that you can come and talk about First Nations people, and we’ve had so many great conversations right here and answered so many key questions and helped people and showed them ways that they can work toward our reconciliation as well.”