In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began to reach every part of the country. Native American communities in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation experienced some of the state's highest infection rates compared to other racial and ethnic groups. During this time, Roanhorse Consulting, LLC (RCLLC), a Indigenous owned think tank, actively engaged in conversations among friends, family, and colleagues about Indigenous communities' needs. Out of those conversations, RCLLC identified where to send resources and donations because there was no one place to access this new, growing, and much-needed information. As a result of these conversations, we began to collect and curate a list of Native-led NGOs, Native-led grassroots efforts, Native-focused funding efforts, and stakeholders interested in moving resources to Navajo Nation and New Mexico Native American communities deeply affected by COVID-19.
The collected and curated efforts have resulted in this resource map, the "NM COVID-19 Resources for Native Communities." This map shows the existing resources and efforts targeting tribes and/or Native serving organizations for COVID-19 relief in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. The map's purpose also advocates for these groups' support and a call to invest in their work. This resource map is unique because it does not solely focus on tribal governments, but centers community-led and nonprofit organizations as active leaders creating systems to address the inequities. We want to highlight Native-led organizations to increase visibility and amplify their creative and innovative problem solving solutions.
For more information about the map, please email us at project@roanhorseconsulting.com
Please read our report “NM Native-led Organizations COVID-19 Resource Map — Phase One” (PDF) to learn more about the findings and next steps as we move from relief to recovery.