Native and Indigenous people disproportionately affected by COVID-19 Protect Native Elders is a volunteer organization focused on helping Indigenous communities fight COVID-19. Pictured above, Protect Native Elders provided 700 face shields to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. (Bleu Adams) Tamra Borchardt-Slayton stood outside the window of the hospital where her grandmother was being treated for COVID-19. Borchardt-Slayton was only able to wave at her grandmother before she was intubated. “Currently, my grandmother’s in the ICU. We haven’t had any contact with her; it’s one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever had to deal with,” she said.