COVID-19 in Indian Country
On March 18, 2020, NAFOA, the National Congress of American Indians), and the National Indian Health Board convened a Tribal Leader Town Hall on the COVID-19 pandemic to engage on updates and policy implications. The town hall webinar discussed responses from the White House, public health agencies, and how our organizations are responding to the […]

March 17, 2020 M-20-16 MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES FROM: Russell T. Vought, Acting Director SUBJECT: Federal Agency Operational Alignment to Slow the Spread of Coronavirus COVID-l9 PDF: M-20-16

In support of local and Tribal communities, the Bureau of Indian Education is temporarily closing schools, on a case-by-case basis, to match local Tribal and State decisions to ensure we are aligned with our communities. According to the BIE, staff and students report initially to their school site to ensure an orderly transition period as BIE […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 17, 2020 Tlingit & Haida’s 85th Annual Tribal Assembly Postponed JUNEAU, AK (March 17, 2020) – Under its constitutional authority, Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s (Tlingit & Haida) Executive Council met and voted to postpone the 85th Annual Tribal Assembly considering the evolving pandemic. The Tribal […]


The Indian Health Service held a conference call with members of the media on the afternoon of March 17, 2020. Following are the remarks as prepared for delivery by Michael Toedt, who serves as the chief medical officer for the IHS. Remarks for RADM Michael Toedt IHS Media Call — COVlD-19 March 17, 2020 I […]

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs had scheduled an oversight hearing on March 25, 2020. It’s now being postponed to sometime in “late April,” according to a spokesperson for the Republican majority on the legislative panel. The oversight hearing was scheduled to address President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2021 budget request for Indian Country programs. […]

On a conference call with members of the media on the afternoon of March 17, 2020, Michael Toedt, the chief medical officer for the Indian Health Service, confirmed three “presumptive positive” cases of COVID-19 within IHS. According to Toedt, the three cases are in the following areas of IHS: * Portland Area * Great Plains Area (Charles […]

  March 17, 2020 To all friends of  Urban Shaman Gallery Following the government recommendations to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and to ensure the health of visitors and our employees, Urban Shaman will be closed till further notice due to the situation of COVID-19 virus. Our physical office will be closed until mid […]

IHS COVID-19 Call for All Tribes and Urban Indian Organization Leaders — March 19 at 3:30 PM Eastern Time Please join the Indian Health Service for a follow-up call with Tribes and urban Indian organization leaders to provide an update on COVID-19. Tribal leaders will have an opportunity to provide comments and ask questions to […]

Note: Call is not open to the media. White House Indian Country COVID-19 Conference Call — March 18 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time Tribal leaders are encouraged to participate in the White House Indian Country COVID-19 Response Team’s conference call to discuss the leadership and coordination in driving readiness to prepare for and respond to […]

USDA Announces Feeding Program Partnership in Response to COVID-19 Collaboration will provide nearly 1,000,000 meals to rural children (Washington, D.C., March 17, 2020) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced a collaboration with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo, and others to deliver nearly 1,000,000 meals to students in […]

Native Learning Center COVID-19 Notice   Due to the current Public Health Emergency declared by the State of Florida and Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Tribal Council has declared an emergency closing tribal wide, , including the Native Learning Center (NLC), beginning March 16, 2020 until further notice. The NLC will continue to monitor […]

From the First Nations Development Institute: Dear Friends, Partners, Colleagues and Supporters, The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is presenting the world with an unprecedented situation that will have immediate and longer-term impacts on our communities, including the Native communities we serve. At First Nations, we are doing our part to protect the health and safety of our […]

The U.S. Supreme Court, in an unprecedented move, is postponing arguments that were to take place between March 23-25 and March 30-April 1. The action, announced on Monday, does not immediately address what will happen to the only Indian law hearing on the docket: McGirt v. Oklahoma, whose outcome will determine the jurisdictional status of […]

From the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe: Due to the growing concerns for schools in relation to COVID-19, at this time, we regret to inform you that there will be no school for Standing Rock Head Start 0-5 Programs this week March 16-20, 2020. At this time the facilities will be sanitized. Thank you for your […]

LCO Ojibwe College Letter to Students on March 11 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: Due to the heightened world-wide awareness and still-uncertain methods of transmission of the COVID-19 version of coronavirus we are implementing best practice measures to prevent illness at the College while maintaining operations.  We want you to know that the safety of […]

Here’s the Bureau of Indian Affairs Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak page: https://www.bia.gov/covid-19 The page includes a link to a “Dear Tribal Leader Letter” dated March 6, 2020. The link, however, is broken as of date of this post on late March 15, 2020.

Official Press Release from Santa Fe Indian School Date: 3/12/2020  SFIS School Closure due to Health and Safety Precautions SANTA FE, N.M. – Today the SFIS Board of Trustees supported the Superintendent’s recommendation in an unanimous vote (7-0) to close school starting today, March 12, 2020 through the end of the scheduled spring break on April […]

A statement from the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, owned and operated by the Pueblo tribes in Albuquerque, New Mexico: To Our Valued Guests: The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is committed to providing our guests with a safe and enjoyable visit. For this reason, we are taking extra precautions to ensure our Campus is disinfected and […]