Unrecognized Tribes Struggle Without Federal Aid During Pandemic, NPR

The Chinook Indian Nation has about 3,000 members who mostly live near the mouth of the Columbia River in southwest Washington. But they're not on the list of federally recognized tribes — so they get nothing from the Indian Health Service.

"We have all the problems of Indian Country, but no means of dealing with it," Chinook chair Tony Johnson says. Without recognition, they get no reservation, no housing allowance, no clinics.

And, during the pandemic, no federal recognition has meant no testing supplies or vaccine allocations.