Chan, Zuckerberg fighting Native American vaccine hesitancy

Dallas Goldtooth, known for his role in the hit FX television series “Reservation Dogs,” slowly swivels in his chair to face the camera in a recent TikTok video. As he looks at the audience, a voice-over announcer says, “When people refuse to get vaccinated but also talk about protecting future generations, that’s stupid.”

The Dakota and Navajo actor joins other influencers — people who have earned the community’s trust — in a two-phase public outreach effort by nonprofit organizations IllumiNative, the Urban Indian Health Institute, and 13 Native groups in states including Alaska, Minnesota, and California. The goal is to overcome COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

The latest phase of the For the Love of Our People campaign is using $900,000 from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to focus on family and generational pride to encourage vaccinations. Grassroots organizations in COVID hotspot states were each given $30,0000 as part of the outreach.

“We’re highlighting the strength and resiliency of Native communities, while calling upon each other to get vaccinated: for our families, our culture and our people,” said Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative, which works to increase the visibility of Native American people.

The effort comes as COVID continues to hit Native American people harder than other groups. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention November report shows that Native Americans are nearly twice as likely to test positive, three times more likely to be hospitalized, and two times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people.

More than 1,000 Native Americans have been vaccinated at sponsored events, and more are expressing trust in the safety of the vaccines, but leaders and others say more work is needed. In September, the...