Sec. Deb Haaland to speak during Navajo Nation virtual prayer event
Mar 17, 2021, 1:34 PM | Updated: 2:52 pm
PHOENIX – The Navajo Nation on Friday will honor the 1,200-plus lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic with a virtual day of prayer event.
New U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is among those scheduled to speak during the event, joining tribal government, religious and health care leaders, the tribe said in a press release Wednesday, exactly one year after the first Navajo Nation coronavirus death was confirmed.
Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe, was confirmed as interior secretary on Monday. The former New Mexico congresswoman is the first Native American to lead a Cabinet department.
Friday’s event will be livestreamed starting at 9 a.m. via Facebook on Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer’s page and the Navajo Nation Division of Behavioral and Mental Health Services page.
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“During the Navajo Nation Day of Prayer on Friday, we call upon the Navajo people, from all faiths, to join in prayer to honor and remember all of the lives lost, to ask for strength and comfort for all of the grieving families, and to ask for strong physical and mental health and continued blessings for our communities, health care workers and front-line warriors, and our entire Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nez said in the release.
The Navajo Nation — which has territory in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — was hit hard by the coronavirus over the past year, but the situation has been improving.
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As of Tuesday, the tribe had documented totals of 29,957 cases and 1,219 fatalities. On Monday, Navajo Nation moved into a soft reopening phase, allowing most businesses to operate at 25% capacity.
“There is no doubt that we are overcoming this pandemic day by day, but we have to keep fighting this virus together and not let up our guard,” Lizer said in the release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families who have lost loved ones and with all of those fighting the virus right now.
“We will have to cope with the long-term physical and mental health impacts long after the pandemic, so we have to continue to support one another and pray for more strength and guidance.”
