As the threat of COVID-19 looms across the United States, organizations on the Crow Reservation are beginning to mobilize for the fight.
Contingency plans for the reservation located in Montana have been in development since the beginning of March. The tribe administration has addressed areas the tribe can help itself and begun education on preventative practices such as washing hands and using hand sanitizers.
The tribe’s Awe Kualawaache Care Center has experience with emergency preparedness drills and is practicing a more rigid screening process. It also followed the advice of the state and ordered supplies it would need including gloves, masks and ventilators in an effort to get ahead of the curve.
Organizations that will be leaned on to ensure health include the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the health public officials with the state of Montana.
“We’re pretty much in the same boat as everybody else,” Ed Eastman, public safety director for the tribe, told Montana Public Radio. “All this stuff is totally new to us.”
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