Navajo Nation reports another 160 COVID cases plus four deaths
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WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Navajo Nation health officials on Wednesday reported 160 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day plus four more related deaths.
In all, the tribe now has reported 20,095 coronavirus cases resulting in 731 deaths since the pandemic began.
Health officials said more than 186,000 people on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have been tested and nearly 11,000 have recovered from COVID-19.
By Ellen Knickmeyer Associated Press
President-elect Joe Biden has picked New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as interior secretary.
The historic pick Thursday would make Haaland the first Native American to lead the powerful federal agency, which has wielded influence over the nation s tribes for generations.
If confirmed by the Senate, the first-term congresswoman would also be the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.
Tribal leaders and activists around the country, along with many Democratic figures, have urged Biden for weeks to choose Haaland to lead the Department of Interior.
Haaland, 60, is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and, as she likes to say, a 35th-generation resident of New Mexico. The role of interior secretary would put her in charge of an agency that has tremendous sway not only over the nearly 600 federally recognized tribes, but also over much of the nation s vast public lands, waterways, wildlife, national parks and mineral wealth.
U.S. Representative Deb Haaland, a Democrat from New Mexico, is Biden’s pick for the top job at the Department of Interior, according to Thursday news reports.
If confirmed, Haaland, an enrolled citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, would be the first Native American cabinet secretary and head of the department that manages federal lands, which encompass 28 percent of the nation. The Department oversees U.S. natural resources, commitments to tribal nations and the public lands the government obtained through forced removal of Indigenous people.
A group of tribal leaders, climate activists and progressive advocates and policymakers had rallied around Haaland, saying the nomination would help set the federal government on course to reckon with the U.S.’ colonial foundations while elevating a policymaker with significant knowledge of the Department of Interior’s purview.
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) President-Elect Joe Biden will nominate Rep. Deb Haaland to serve as his Interior Secretary, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Haaland, a Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico since 2019, would be the first Native American Cabinet secretary and the first to oversee the department, whose jurisdiction includes tribal lands.
Reuters reported Tuesday that Haaland was the leading candidate for the job, which would give her authority over a department that employs more than 70,000 people across the United States and oversees more than 20% of the nation s surface, including tribal lands and national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite.
Navajo Nation reports 287 new COVID-19 cases, 1 more death
December 18, 2020 GMT
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) Navajo Nation health officials on Thursday reported 287 new COVID-19 cases and one new related death.
In all, the tribe now has reported 20,395 coronavirus cases resulting in 732 deaths since the pandemic began.
Health officials said more than 186,000 people on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have been tested and nearly 11,000 have recovered from COVID-19.
Navajo Department of Health officials said 77 communities on the reservation still have uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus.
Tribal officials have said nearly all intensive care unit beds on the reservation are being used as COVID-19 cases surge.