From smallpox to the 1918 flu pandemic, Native Americans have been decimated by viral outbreaks. And that gives them good reason to be alarmed about the latest foe: COVID-19.

Native Americans have higher rates of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and asthma, that can make them more susceptible to infections. And tribal members often have limited access to health care.

Only seven tribal members have tested positive for the coronavirus in San Diego County as of April 26, according to county statistics. Their remote locations in the backcountry may have shielded them from the brunt of the pandemic.

But even if local tribes never see a major outbreak — there are about 43,000 Native Americans living in the county, according to U.S. Census estimates — the economic and cultural impacts of the pandemic could be long-lasting.



All casinos have been shut down since at least March 20 to align with California’s shelter-in-place order. For many of the tribes, the gambling operations are the only source of revenue. Without it, tribal governments find it hard to make ends meet.

“Because of a variety of barriers that exist, including the geographic distance, issues with transportation, issues with health literacy, a high burden of chronic disease, it’s taxing enough on a community, not only socially, but also from a health standpoint,” said Dr. Dan Calac, the chief medical officer for Indian Health Council, which serves nine reservations in the county.

“Then you don’t want a pandemic on top of that,” said Calac, a member of the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians. “You can really see the overall extreme burden on a community that lives in these areas.”



Prolonged casino closures could devastate tribal finances

With its 17 federally recognized tribes, San Diego County is home to the greatest number of tribes in the country.

Unlike state, county and local governments, which can collect sales, income and property taxes, tribal governments use business operations to raise revenues. Since the 1970s, gaming operations have been the most successful and reliable government revenue stream across Indian Country, Kate Spilde said.

Spilde is a tribal gaming professor at San Diego State University and the endowed chair of the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming.


Throughout the state, there are 65 tribal gaming facilities, nine of which are in San Diego County, according to the California Gambling Control Commission. The National Indian Gaming Commission reported $9 billion in revenue from tribal casinos in California and Northern Nevada for fiscal 2018.

Although tribes receive some federal funding, successful economic developments like casinos are critical for tribal nations.

“Schools, hospitals, education, housing, infrastructure — all of these basic services that tribes provide — must be paid for out of economic development enterprises rather than from a tax base like a state or local government would have,” Spilde said.

Sycuan Casino Resort accounts for more than 80 percent of the budget for the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, Chairman Cody J. Martinez said.

Former Sycuan Tribal Chairman Daniel Tucker, Tribal Elder George Prietto, and current Sycuan Tribal Chairman Cody Martinez sign the final steel beam of the tribe’s first hotel in May 2018. (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

When the Sycuan Casino closed March 20, employees received two weeks of pay, and the majority of them furloughed after.

“The impacts are starting to become more severe as the time goes on,” Martinez said.

For the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, Harrah’s Resort Southern California pays for about 85 percent of its budget, Chairman Bo Mazzetti said.

Harrah’s closed March 16, but employees will continue being paid at least through the end of April.

“We look at our employees like extended family of the tribe, and we want to protect them just like we do for our tribal members, so no one’s laid off,” Mazzetti said.


The long-term economic impact of the casino and business closures is unknown, but the communities are already feeling effects.

Carlene A. Chamberlain, the 65-year-old historian for the Jamul tribe, says the gaming operation has given members a higher quality of life.

In her earlier years, members of the Jamul Indian Village lived in shacks, some with dirt floors and all without electricity and running water. Later, families moved into trailers, which were eventually replaced by manufactured homes funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“It was a hard life, but it also made me appreciate that time,” Chamberlain said. “Then, I think I was the only kid here by myself. I played by myself and went on hiking trails by myself, but it also makes you appreciate later on in years when you have a concrete floor and a real roof over your head.”

The 13 houses on the reservation were displaced by the casino, which opened in October 2016, said Chamberlain, who is also the mother of Erica M. Pinto, Jamul Indian Village chairwoman.

Now, members of the tribe rent or own homes off the reservation, and they and members of other local reservations benefit from the casinos’ profitability.

But the economic steps tribes have made are threatened as casino doors remain shuttered.

“It’s just a much more profound threat to really 30 or 40 years of improvement of economic conditions since tribes started gaming,” Spilde said. “There’s been a steady improvement as they’ve really built their native nations and institutions of government and communities.

“The health and education gains that we’ve seen have been incredible, and all of that is being threatened by this crisis.”

In addition to the economic impact casino closures have on tribal governments, there are many employees, both native and non-native, who are being impacted as well.


The tribal gaming industry employs 825 people at Jamul, 2,800 at Sycuan and 1,500 at Harrah’s alone.

Jamul Casino continued to pay employees up until April 11, but they have since been furloughed and are receiving benefits through the end of May, Pinto said.

Through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, $8 billion will be provided to tribes across the country to help with financial impacts. It has not yet been decided how that money will be divided among tribes, or if it will be based on population, budgetary needs or evenly split.



Social distancing impacts cultural traditions

Native communities and cultures tend to be centered around social gatherings, Pinto said. It’s the way a tribe’s language is passed from one generation to the next, and the way the traditional native cultures thrive during the modern day.

Canceling in-person gatherings has already exacted an emotional toll on the people of Jamul, whose last gathering was in January.

“For tribal people, we like to get together, we like to talk, we like to laugh, we like to eat,” Pinto said. “It’s just that gathering for our people, to come socialize amongst each other (is important), and it has really impacted all 40 of our adult members.

“I can sense the impact on the younger generation, I can sense it on the older generation and it’s just a weird time right now. It’s unprecedented.”

Jamul Indian Village Chairwoman Erica M. Pinto, right, and her mother and tribal historian Carlene A. Chamberlain are shown here at the chapel on the Jamul Indian Reservation on April 15, 2020. (K.C. Alfred/K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

SDSU and UC San Diego both canceled their annual, student-run powwows for this spring.

Though tribal summer gatherings have not yet been canceled, it may happen if it’s still not safe to gather, Martinez said.


“Summer is the launch of what’s called the gathering season where a lot of the Kumeyaay bands have what they call traditional gatherings and fiestas,” Martinez said. “Those have not been canceled at this point, but it is likely that they could be.”

Ruth-Ann Thorn, chairwoman of the Rincon Economic Development Corp., said tribes are being particularly cautious in part due to the historical trauma Native Americans have faced.

“If you look at history, we as native people have dealt with some plagues in the past, and so I think that the impact that it had is not just economics,” she said. “Maybe you didn’t actually experience them, but you know your great grandfather or your lineage experience these things.

“I think it does bring a certain amount of insecurity, especially I would have to say with the way that we are seeing our (federal) government handling this, it’s a big concern.”



Health disparities heighten concerns in native communities

Among the Native American community, there are higher rates of diabetes, asthma, obesity and high blood pressure, said Young Suh, medical director at San Diego American Indian Health Center.

All of these conditions can increase the risk of someone having complications with coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The Navajo Nation in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico has had 1,716 tribal members test positive for coronavirus and logged 59 deaths as of April 26, according to Navajo Times.

Despite the negative impacts on their economies, leaders said the closures are an important social distancing move to keeping employees, tribal members and casino patrons safe amid the pandemic.

“We’ve been extremely cautious because our folks, and Indian people generally, have higher rates of diabetes and other related diseases,” Mazzetti said. “We’re a pretty vulnerable community — that’s why we’re so cautious about watching all of this.”

In many cases, tribal health clinics lack the ability to treat or diagnose patients with coronavirus.


“We do not have the infrastructure in place to even test or treat for any type of specific outbreak of COVID-19 in our community,” Martinez said. “We have already instructed our members to utilize our insurance and go to the primary care to get to the designated bed care facility in San Diego.”

Actions taken to address the region’s most recent wildfires may have better prepared local tribes for the pandemic, Calac said. Indian Health Council worked early on to ensure tribal members could continue medical treatment through virtual visits for chronic health conditions.

Despite the challenges tribal leaders are having to address at this time, Chamberlain remains hopeful.

As the Jamul tribal historian, she has studied artifacts like grinding stones and projectile points found in the area. It gives her hope that their community will successfully weather the coronavirus storm.

“I want people to understand that we have a long history and we’re connected to this part of San Diego, and have been for thousands of years,” Chamberlain said. “We’re survivors, and I tie myself back to that land.

“I’m so grateful and I appreciate when I see these items that our ancestors used and this is how they survived. Now we’re in this era where we’ve got this pandemic and we’re trying to survive now.”

This story was updated on Monday, April 27 at 7:03 p.m. to reflect latest numbers.