Coronavirus' Impact on Indigenous People and Asian Americans

Terms in this set (29)

Pandemic
The widespread outbreak of a communicable, or contagious, disease that spreads across multiple continents at the same time..
1918 flu epidemic
The deadliest spread of disease in the 20th century. While the global spread of a disease is typically referred to as a "pandemic," or spreading across multiple continents, this article focuses solely on the impact of the so-called "Spanish flu" on Native Americans in the United States. Since the focus is on one country, the term "epidemic" is used rather than "pandemic." The authors of this article, Henry Gass and Sara Miller Llana, highlight the fact that Native Americans died at a rate four times greater than other Americans during the spread of the Spanish flu.
Infectious disease
A disease caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi, that harm the body and can be spread from one person to another. These contagious diseases are different from non-communicable diseases like skin cancer, which cannot be spread from person to person and from genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia, which can be passed from parent through child through their genes.
Oral history project
A method of historical research in which the person being interviewed provides a first-person account of an event which the interviewer records to preserve the interviewee's memories. In the context of the article, information gleaned from an oral history project is used to explain how Native Americans reacted to the 1918 flu epidemic.
Native American
Term for a person who identifies as being a member of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. The term "indigenous" refers to people who lived in an area prior to colonial settlement, who have a strong link to the territories and natural resources in the area they inhabit, and who have a distinct culture. In Canada, the people who identify with this group are often referred to as belonging to the First Nations. People in this group also identify in sub-groups referred to as tribes, which have different cultures and living conditions.
Smallpox and measles
Diseases caused by viruses that are easily spread from person to person and can be deadly. In the context of the article, these diseases had a devastating impact on Native American populations during the period of European exploration and colonization.
Reservation
An area of land set aside by the United States government to be occupied and governed by the Native American tribes that inhabited the territory. The land where the federal government forced Native Americans to settle was typically arid and/or resource poor. This has made living in these areas incredibly difficult. Due to the harsh physical and economic conditions, many young Native Americans have moved away, resulting in a primary elderly population in these areas. Poverty and lack of access to medical services have contributed to chronic disease and long-term health problems among the people here, making them especially vulnerable to deadly diseases like the coronavirus.
Chronic disease
A disease that persists over a long period of time. Examples include asthma, cancer, and diabetes. In the article, Allison Barlow, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, asserts that the impact of coronavirus is magnified for Native Americans, in part, due to their other long-term, and often untreated or under-treated, health problems.
Resilience
Psychological term describing a person's ability to persevere through difficult situations or setbacks. People who exhibit this characteristic adapt to challenges and recover quickly from crises. In the context of the article, Allison Barlow, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, comments on the impressive flexibility, responsiveness, and adaptability of Native American communities in addressing the coronavirus pandemic.
Infrastructure
The framework of a system, often a reference to roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, and other foundational elements needed to support a community. Within the context of the article, the authors assert that these systems are poorly developed or nonexistent on reservations. One example that supports the authors' argument is the fact that some Native Americans living on reservations do not have access to running water.
Relief package
A collection of measures, including financial support and medical assistance, provided by the government to assist parts of the country that are in need. In the article, it is noted that the U.S. government has passed four aid packages to assist Native Americans with the coronavirus epidemic in 2020; however, it is also noted that prior to releasing this aid, the government had underfunded public health care to Native peoples living on reservations for decades. As a result, it is implied that the relief packages provided by the government have been insufficient.
Treaty agreement
A legally binding contract between indigenous nations and the United States government, established when the federal government forcibly moved Native Americans onto reservations. In these agreements, the government promised to provide necessary goods to the Native Americans who lived on reservations. The government did not honor all aspects of the agreements; as a result, the Native Americans who lived on the reservations suffered due to inadequate support from the U.S. government, notably health care.
Inpatient healthcare facility
Hospital that provides care for medical issues serious enough to require a patient to stay overnight for a period of days, weeks, or longer. This is different from outpatient care, in which the person does not require hospitalization. The article highlights the inadequacy of healthcare facilities on reservations by observing there is only one inpatient healthcare facility with only 45 beds for a population of 20,000 Native Americans who live on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Contingency plan
A course of action designed to manage a problem if the original course of action is not successful, sometimes referred to as "Plan B." In the context of the article, quarantine sites have been established on the Pine Ridge Reservation as a backup plan in the event that the hospital has more patients than it can care for.
Quarantine
Period of time that a person who has been exposed to the coronavirus must remain isolated from others to prevent the disease from spreading. In the article, creating quarantine sites is the contingency plan for Native Americans who live on the Pine Ridge Reservation if the single inpatient hospital there runs out of beds.
Retraumatizing
A reminder of past harm. In the article, the term is used to highlight that Native American communities have been traumatized in the past by the spread of deadly diseases such as smallpox and measles. The threat of the coronavirus spreading throughout their reservations is a present danger and also a painful reminder of the loss that Native Americans have suffered in the past.
Genocide and ethnocide
Genocide is the intentional act to destroy an entire people. The term "ethnocide" is sometimes used interchangeably with "genocide;" however, there can be a distinction between the two terms. Ethnocide is the elimination of a culture; while this could occur due to genocide, it is also possible to eliminate a culture without murdering the people who are part of the culture. Instead, the culture could be eliminated through assimilation.
Autonomous structures for governing
A government that is independent from pressure or influence from an outside power. In the context of the article, this refers to the ability of Native Americans who lived on reservations to create governments that can manage tribal life. The tribal governments face a major challenge in developing a response to the COVID-19 pandemic when they do not have access to the resources they need to manage an outbreak properly.
Diphtheria
Bacterial disease that is deadly if not properly treated. In 1925, there was an outbreak of this disease in Nome, Alaska. It was impossible for ships to navigate the icy waters and planes were unable to fly in the extreme cold. As a result, a relay of dog sled teams was used to deliver the essential supply of antitoxin serum 674 miles from Nenana to Nome in only five and a half days, which cut the previous record for this trip nearly in half. Without the serum, a local doctor predicted 100% of the residents would die from the disease. This event lives on in the memory of Native Americans who reside in the area surrounding Nome and is commemorated each year in the Iditarod dog sled race.
Iditarod race
An annual, 1,049-mile, long-distance sled dog race in which participants race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. This race was inspired by the rapid delivery of antitoxin serum that was delivered to Nome in response to a deadly diphtheria outbreak in 1925.
COVID-19
A novel, never-before-observed virus that emerged in the Wuhan district of China in 2019 and quickly spread across the world in 2020. Its name is an abbreviation for "coronavirus" and the year in which it was first identified. Coronaviruses such as COVID-19 cause contagious disease in humans, meaning it can spread from person to person. As of August 2020, COVID-19 has infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world as it continues its rapid spread. Social distancing by staying six feet apart from others and avoiding crowded spaces is one of the most effective measures to prevent the spread of this disease.
Xenophobia
Fear and hatred of people from foreign countries; a form of prejudice. The related term "xenophobic" refers to actions that are conducted out of fear and hatred of people from foreign nations; xenophobic actions are a form of discrimination.
Prejudice
Judging someone before knowing them. This judgement can lead to positive or negative assumptions about a person that are not based on an actual experience with them. This term refers to thoughts that can lead to discrimination, but the terms "prejudice" and "discrimination" are not interchangeable. Discrimination refers the unequal treatment of an individual or group.
Scapegoat
Person who is assigned blame for something that goes wrong, regardless of whether they have any actual responsibility for the problem, typically to prevent those who deserve the blame from being held accountable. This term is derived from the Bible; in the Book of Leviticus, a goat is to be sent out into the wilderness to die to atone for the sins of the people. In the context of the article, the term is used as a verb to refer to the act of blaming someone for what is going wrong. In the article, originally published by USA Today, the author refers to experts who stated that xenophobic speech from politicians—notably President Trump—have caused Asian Americans to be blamed for the outbreak of COVID-19.
Virus
A microscopic parasite that can only survive, thrive, and reproduce within the body of a host. This is different from bacteria, which are single-cell organisms that can live and reproduce on their own. The most effective method of managing a viral outbreak is to prevent the parasite from gaining access to a host. For this reason, health departments strongly recommend social distancing and the use of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The article discusses the coronavirus itself and also uses the term as a simile when discussing xenophobia: Carl Chan states that since COVID-19 started spreading in his home state of California, some people give him hostile glances: "They look at me and think I'm some kind of virus."
Anecdotal evidence
Information to support a position that has been gathered in an informal way, typically relying on first-person accounts. Sometimes, this kind of individual account may indeed reflect a larger truth or trend, but not always. This is different from scientific evidence, which is based on independently acquired information that is verified using the scientific method.
Hate crime
A criminal act targeting a person or group based on the perpetrator's prejudice against that person or group. By labeling some crimes in this manner, the federal government reserves the right to prosecute the alleged perpetrator, even if the crime is not ordinarily a federal crime. Sentencing enhancements can be added to these kinds of crime, increasing the punishment compared to situations where the crime was committed without prejudice.
Authoritarian
A government that has complete control of the population and demands total subservience and offers no individual freedoms. The purpose of this type of government is to control every aspect of life within the country. The term refers to any government that demands the blind obedience of the citizens. Examples are totalitarianism, autocracies, military juntas, and oligarchies.
Shelter-in-place order
A government directive that residents of a city or state must stay in their homes unless it is necessary to go out in public, such as to obtain food or medicine. These orders are often accompanied by a shutdown of public transit. People who ignore these types of orders put their own lives at risk and threaten the lives of others in their community.
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