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| Coronavirus guidelines at Lower Antelope Canyon Tribal Park, administered by Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Near Page, Arizona |
I spent much of the last week on the Navajo Nation, mostly in Arizona. It was my son's spring break, and after our stop in Moab, Utah we were in Chinle and also the outskirts of Page, which includes a lot of Navajo territory. In all areas of the Navajo Nation, everyone was expected to wear a mask--even outdoors.
This requirement of masks both indoors and outdoors has been the Navajo position since early in the pandemic when the mortality rate for this sovereign nation was very, very high. Since then, the Navajo have boasted a very high vaccination rate and some of the strictest public health controls in the continental United States. Here's a New York Times story about the state of affairs on the Navajo Nation, and an NPR story about the virus' toll on the sovereign nation, which is spread over four states in the Southwest, is here.
As of today, there were 53,221 cases of Coronavirus in the Navajo Nation. The number of deaths was 1,741.
Two days ago, I was at Lower Antelope Canyon, an extraordinary tourist attraction just a few miles outside Page. All guests were told that failure to wear a mask would get you kicked out of the tour, which was entirely outdoors.
Within a small area, I took photos of these six different public health posters--including several that were Navajo specific in their images--and perhaps also in their messages, e.g., caring about their families.
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| At the entrance to Dixie Ellis' Lower Antelope Canyon Tours |
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| This, put out by the Navajo (Dine) government addresses the differences among masks, specifying which are more protective. |
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| This one is Navajo-specific in hair style. |
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| This one regards the Delta variant, in particular. |
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| Note the detailed scenarios in this one, regarding relative protection depending on whether one or both parties are masked and distanced |
Meanwhile, yesterday a federal district judge in Florida struck down the mask mandate on public transportation. Although most major airlines announced they would immediately cease to require masks, I was in the Grand Canyon today, where public transit continued to require masks. Indeed, they had a number of different signs regarding masks, including these I photographed and one I didn't catch a photo of but that featured the Arizona flag, suggesting it was produced by Arizona's state government.
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| At the transit bus stop for Hermit's Rest |
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