Submit search
UNM Newsroom /
News / NMiF talks with top tribal affairs advisor on Native communities emerging from pandemic
NMiF talks with top tribal affairs advisor on Native communities emerging from pandemic April 29, 2021
This week on New Mexico in Focus, correspondent Antonia Gonzales speaks with President Biden’s top tribal affairs adviser, PaaWee Rivera. The son of former Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. George Rivera is working to advance Native interests as tribal communities emerge from the pandemic.
A group of leading civil rights attorneys gathers for a discussion of the impact on New Mexico of the George Floyd murder and subsequent conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin. Floyd’s death at the hand of Minneapolis Police spurred a New Mexico law that addresses legal protections for police officers.
NMiF features noted infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci March 04, 2021
This week, New Mexico in Focus features the top medical aide to President Biden and noted infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales talks to Dr. Fauci about how, despite shouldering a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infections, Native tribes are leading the way in vaccination rates. Dr. Fauci explains what states can learn from tribal nations and talks about the timeline for vaccinating students, many of whom are not eligible for any of the currently approved vaccines.
Sen. Martin Heinrich joins correspondent Laura Paskus to talk about the bill he introduced to create a 21st Century Conservation Corps Act. It’s modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corp of the 1930s and would put people to work on landscape restoration projects, urban and community forestry programs and more.
NMPBS Antonia Gonzales speaks with Dr. Anthony Fauci about Native vaccination success.
Antonia Gonzales: We know that COVID-19 has hit Indian Country hard. But right now many tribal nations across the country are outpacing other communities. When it comes to administering COVID-19 vaccinations, the Navajo Nation exceeded goals of administering 100,000 doses by the end of February. What can we learn about how tribal nations are vaccinating their populations?
Dr. Fauci: They re doing something right. And I think that what we need to do is set that as an example and keep it up. What you have is, I guess, the community spirit among the tribal nations are such that when you have something that you realize is important for your health, for that of your family, and for that of your community. I know it s a close knit community. So perhaps that s one of the reasons why when something as lifesaving as a vaccine comes along, the uptake of it is very smooth and very efficient. So in that res
NMiF features reaction to confirmation hearings for Interior Secretary-designate Deb Haaland February 25, 2021
This week, New Mexico in Focus features reaction to confirmation hearings for Interior Secretary-designate Deb Haaland. The New Mexico congresswoman spent parts of two days this week in front of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources defending her stance on fossil fuel production and parrying thrusts from conservative senators, some of whom called her environmental stance “radical.” Correspondent Antonia Gonzales speaks to a group of prominent Native women about the hearings, then The Line opinion panel offers its thoughts.
The combination of a limited housing supply and a high demand for rental properties in Albuquerque is causing a surge in rental prices, which is frustrating some tenants who are looking for somewhere to live that fits both their needs and their budget. NMiF Correspondent Megan Kamerick talked with tenant T
4:22
New Mexico PBS correspondent Antonia Gonzales talks with Navajo Nation First Lady Phefelia Nez about her work in New Mexico and Arizona on the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Nez serves on the New Mexico task force that just announced suggestions for dealing with this problem. First Lady Nez also discusses upcoming efforts to educate and provide resources to tribal members.
PHEFELIA NEZ: I have been working with the task force and for the Navajo Nation, from the Office of the First Lady and Second Lady. A lot of our efforts have been revolving around just educating the public on MMIW and then as well as human trafficking, because there is a connection there definitely, but it’s not one and the same. And then we’ve been reaching out to Arizona’s Governor’s Human Trafficking and Advisory Council and then New Mexico Human Trafficking Task Force. So, it s been a lot of efforts of partnering with them to educate the public on some of these items.