(Wind River Reservation, WY) – The Northern Arapaho Business Council (NABC) was pleased to welcome U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney to the Wind River Reservation on Thursday for a briefing with Tribal leaders.
“We’re grateful to Congresswoman Cheney for visiting with us and discussing the urgent issues facing the Northern Arapaho people,” said Chairman Jordan Dresser of the NABC. “We appreciated the opportunity to update Rep. Cheney on our ongoing COVID-19 response efforts, including actions we’re taking to increase vaccinations among tribal members and leverage federal funding to bring vital relief to our community. This assistance remains critical as we work to combat this virus and address the many public health and economic impacts to Northern Arapaho families. We thank Rep. Cheney for her continued support as we work to recover and rebuild from this pandemic.”
The briefing took place at Ethete Tribal College.
“I was honored to visit with the Northern Arapaho Business Council to hear first-hand about the action they are taking to combat the continued spread of COVID-19 and discuss what more can be done with local, state, and federal partners to work through these serious issues,” said Congresswoman Cheney.
“The Tribal community faces many unique challenges, particularly as it relates to fighting the virus. It was encouraging to hear that nearly 60% of tribal members have been vaccinated and that leaders have taken action to incentivize vaccinations. In addition to COVID, the Council provided insightful information about some of the health care, education, and housing challenges that the community is grappling with. I will continue to make sure that we’re doing everything possible to help our tribal population as we battle this pandemic and address these other important concerns.”
As with much of Indian Country, the Wind River Reservation has been hit hard by COVID-19. The recent introduction of the “delta” variant has led to another rise in case numbers and hospitalizations, which Tribal leaders have aggressively addressed with a host of measures to increase vaccine distribution, improve indoor mask-wearing and reduce public gatherings where the virus spreads.