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Where Things Stand: Native Tribes Have Been Bucking Anti-Mask Rules For A While

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HUERFANO, NM - MAY 27: Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has his temperature checked while helping to distribute food, water, and other supplies to Navajo families on May 27, 2020 in Huerfano on the Navajo Nation ... HUERFANO, NM - MAY 27: Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has his temperature checked while helping to distribute food, water, and other supplies to Navajo families on May 27, 2020 in Huerfano on the Navajo Nation Reservation, New Mexico. Encompassing parts of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, the Navajo Nation now has the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases per capita in the United States, as the spread of the coronavirus continues to disproportionately effect minority communities across the country. (Photo by Sharon Chischilly/Getty Images) MORE LESS

August 31, 2021 6:44 p.m.

We’ve watched and covered public school districts in red states around the U.S. defying Republican governors’ orders against universal masking in schools for the past several weeks. But as sovereign nations, many Native American tribes around the country have been taking school-related COVID mitigation measures into their own hands for some time.

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