As bad as the effects of the pandemic may be where you live, it is probably nothing like the devastation felt on the Fort Peck Reservation and other Reservations.
We have all witnessed the effects of people self quarantining at home and having social interaction outlawed to discourage people from being together.
Domestic violence, divorce, child abuse, anxiety, depression, and all kinds of other mental and emotional suffering are at all-time highs.
What about the people who have been mandated by laws and treaties that are hundreds of years old? The effects are magnified.
They feel an acute loss of identity and isolation and have little hope for the future.
For many on the Reservation, the only ray of hope is education. Sadly, it has been neutered useless by the invasion of Zoom learning.
Sports have also been curtailed and carry huge restrictions and losses of freedom. Being subject to routine testings would be like submitting to random drug testing each week.
What country do we live in?
Social interaction has been halted and the kids and adults are terrified.
They are fighting against an invisible foe.
When will it end?
It seems like nobody is listening.