Joaqlin Estus
ICT
Climate change is having profound effects on the Indigenous peoples of North America. Take Arizona, as an example. The temperature in Phoenix nearly hit 120 degrees this month and has been hovering around 90 degrees for a low. June wasn’t much cooler, and summer 2024 is already rivaling last summer’s brutal heat dome that covered parts of Arizona.
Multiple tribes live in the Phoenix Valley and the city itself has a high Native population, most from one of the 22 federally recognized tribes in the state.
Dr. Vafa Matin, at Native Health Phoenix, said such high temperatures are dangerous for people exposed to the heat for hours, especially the elderly, children, and individuals with chronic illnesses.
“Indigenous people, like others in the region, are at risk of heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. This is especially important because the exposure to the high temperatures is so prolonged. “We have from 5:00 a.m. to almost 8:00 p.m. exposure to the sunlight and the heat that creates, that’s present. These conditions can be life-threatening if not promptly treated or pointed out,” he said.
Heat-related Native American deaths are on the rise in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located (Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Multiple Cause of Death Files: 2018-2022).
Year Deaths
2018. 23
2019. 20
2020 30
2021 62
2022 58
“High temperatures also stress the heart and cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of heart attacks, (and) congestive heart failure,” Matin told ICT. “This is even worse on Indigenous individuals, particularly those with preexisting conditions.“
“The other things that we see are respiratory challenges, he said. “The heat can exacerbate the respiratory conditions that make it difficult for individuals with asthma or other respiratory diseases like emphysema or whatnot to breathe comfortably. This can be particularly challenging for Indigenous population with high rates of these conditions.”
ICT’s Climate Desk: How climate change is affecting Indigenous communities
Arizona is hotter in Phoenix Valley, not as hot in the state’s high country like Flagstaff, near where the Navajo Nation is located. Nearby Las Vegas climbed to 120 degrees a few days ago and parts of California’s known hot spots had similar temperatures.
Dehydration, due to excessive sweating and inadequate fluid intake, can also occur. Matin said clinicians regularly see people in mild dehydration. “They can’t think right, they’re fatigued, they’re tired …Their ability to walk properly has changed and they really think there’s something going on. And you go through the history of what they do, what they don’t do, they’re dehydrated.”
“You add to that to a vulnerable population like Indigenous communities. This includes the elderly, children, and individuals with chronic illnesses and they’re more vulnerable to the heat impacts of the extreme heat due to factors such as socioeconomic status, access to healthcare.”
He said the health center is co-hosting a Frybread powwow on July 13, when the center will be spreading the word on how to withstand the heat. “For the frybread (event), besides creating shade and hydration and fans temporarily, (public education) creates that risk reduction behavior so people can still enjoy the ceremonial get togethers.”
“These are all the effects basically that are more crucial for public health authorities, awareness, community organizations, individuals implement and strategize to help to reduce the effects of the heat, including heat advisories, cooling centers, hydration campaigns, culturally sensitive health outreach programs to mitigate the impact of severe high temperature Indigenous populations.”
State of Arizona remedies
Gerilene Haskon, Diné, is tribal liaison, Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs, for the Arizona Department of Health Services. She told ICT the state works closely with tribes and tribal health organizations on climate-related issues facing Indigenous people. Those include general infrastructure concerns such as lack of access to the Internet, to surface transportation and to water. The lack of cost-effective energy “prevents individuals from utilizing and cooling down their homes.”
“One of the main things that have impacted communities is really the food system, the drought, the warmer weathers leading to lack of access to traditional foods and food security related to farming. A lot of communities here in Arizona have farming traditional foods, but also ranching livestock and the droughts have limited their production and having that availability,” Haskon said. Flooding during the monsoon season is also an issue.
Haskon said the state is taking a multi pronged approach. It has developed an extreme heat preparedness plan, cooling center map, and other resources. Those include 18 mobile cooling units. “They’re retrofitted shipping containers that are solar powered, so they’re self sustained and they were retrofitted with cooling units inside of them,” Haskon said.
Also, “the Governor’s Office of Resiliency was able to administer $13 millions in grants to make necessary improvements in (the) electric grid in their rural areas to improve reliability. And so this is where a lot of tribes are very involved in this. And then also the Department of Housing was able to provide over $1 million to organizations throughout the state, really to provide relief at shelters during the extreme weather events, including heat,” she said.
The forecast
The National Weather Service forecast for Phoenix calls for a high of 116 degrees Wednesday, with day-time temperatures staying above 109 for the next 10 days. Night-time temperatures will drop into the high 80s and low 90s, providing little respite from the heat.
Nationally, dozens of tribes will feel the heat, with temperatures between 10 and 30 degrees above average expected across Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and western Arizona.
The Service predicts temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s in Houston, Texas. However, millions of people there will endure the heat without air conditioning or fans due to a power outage in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which swept through and flooded much of the region over the weekend. Rain is also in the forecast.
The nation’s highest temperature will be in the homelands of the Timbisha Shoshone. Death Valley, California will have a high of 126 on Wednesday. Daytime temperatures there will stay above 116 for the next ten days.
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