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Indigenous Peoples

How COVID-19 preys upon poverty — and will make it worse

By Mark A. Bonta / May 15, 2020 / Comments Off on How COVID-19 preys upon poverty — and will make it worse

In the wake of COVID-19, the world economy is set to contract 3 percent in 2020, according to recent estimates from the International Monetary Fund.  As devastating as this may be, the long-term economic prospects are even worse, as a research analysis by IMF economists found that five years after a pandemic, economic inequities will […]

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Coronavirus briefs: Native Americans respond to the pandemic

By Mark A. Bonta / April 29, 2020 / Comments Off on Coronavirus briefs: Native Americans respond to the pandemic

Thanks to the confluence of culture, politics and history, the indigenous peoples of North America are uniquely vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic. And, they are uniquely positioned to protect themselves from its worst effects. Ignored in the data, and historically unequal Native Americans, like other minority groups in the United States, suffer from unequal access […]

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Poverty makes indigenous communities all the more vulnerable to COVID-19

By Mark A. Bonta / March 27, 2020 / Comments Off on Poverty makes indigenous communities all the more vulnerable to COVID-19

Historically, indigenous peoples the world over have been devastated by diseases imported into their communities by outsiders. Today, rampant poverty and lack of investment in public health, housing, food and water services only increases the risks they face from the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia: Overcrowded and at-risk Aboriginal people in Australia’s Northern Territory and elsewhere are […]

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Missionaries and industry bring disease to Brazil’s indigenous communities

By Mark A. Bonta / March 26, 2020 / Comments Off on Missionaries and industry bring disease to Brazil’s indigenous communities

Centuries of epidemic disease, from smallpox and malaria to measles and influenza, have been imported into Brazil’s native communities by missionaries, colonists, and the mining, logging and ranching industries. Now, these same invasive forces appear ready to bring the coronavirus pandemic to the deep reaches of the Amazon. The missionaries are coming One religious organization, Ethnos360, […]

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Indigenous peoples want you to stay away

By Mark A. Bonta / March 26, 2020 / Comments Off on Indigenous peoples want you to stay away

Native people the world over have not forgotten their profound vulnerability to disease brought in by outsiders. In the age of the coronavirus pandemic, they’re taking steps to protect themselves. South America: ‘Keep out!’ As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the world, indigenous communities across South America — from the Amazon rainforest to the Andes Mountains […]

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What can the U.S. pandemic response learn from Nigeria, and Native Americans?

By Mark A. Bonta / March 20, 2020 / Comments Off on What can the U.S. pandemic response learn from Nigeria, and Native Americans?

A recurring theme in the United States is our lack of preparedness, from the disbanding of the federal pandemic response team, which is fraught with controversy, to the lack of safety gear, ventilators and hospital beds around the nation. Elsewhere in the world, and even within the U.S. borders, other governments appear to be more […]

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