Without the same funding as tribal nations, many organizations that serve Native Americans in cities face a shortfall.

Five days a week, the Gatherings Cafe located inside the Minneapolis American Indian Center offers free meals to seniors. The Native American Community Clinic is testing patients for COVID-19 in a drive-thru test. And the Ain Dah Yung center has staff in the parks to help the displaced residents of the settlement.

These organizations are often a safety net for Native Americans living off reserve in the Twin Cities, where federal treaty obligations to provide social services disappear. They also target their services to a substantial portion of the Native American population of Minnesota; approximately seven in ten Amerindians reside off reserve or in the metropolitan area. But during the pandemic, these nonprofits face declining revenues as they prepare for a worsening economic crisis.

The clinic sees its revenues decrease by 30%

“We generate less income because we see fewer people,” said Antony Stately, CEO of the Native American Community Clinic. The clinic has experienced a drop of more than 20% in revenue due to a loss of insurance reimbursements.

Janeen Comenote, executive director of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition, said almost all of the state’s more than 30 urban Native American organizations closed from March through June. Some are still closed to the public.

In early April, NUIFC surveyed 45 urban Native American nonprofits, 15 of which were based in Minnesota, and found that about $ 9.9 million in expected revenue had been lost across the board. The combined budget is $ 152.5 million.

“Our communities tend to be a bit of a canary in the coal mine,” Comenote said. “What’s going to impact the rest of America usually impacts black and native communities first. And these organizations really are kind of the barometer for that. “

Treaties dictate several obligations the US government has to tribal nations in return for their lands, such as providing housing and education. Some tribes, such as the Navajo Nation, have also been hit hard by the virus.

But the government does not have such a responsibility to the urban Indigenous population, which means the nonprofits that serve them must compete for state, city, and county funding like any other group.

“A Complete Misconception About Community Experience”

Joe Hobot, president and CEO of the American Indian OIC, said government officials often have a “complete misconception about the community experience.”

“They think ‘we will give the tribes money and so we can check the box that we have provided resources to the American Indians in Minnesota.’ Well the data shows that you really only engage about a quarter of the population, ”Hobot said.

So when taxpayer funds are allocated specifically to tribes, “we know that the majority of this money will flow over the heads of our people in our community,” he added.

Since the stay-at-home order was lifted, organizations have rebounded slightly by moving to a hybrid model of online and in-person service delivery. Most of the groups interviewed were also able to receive PPP loans, Comenote said.

The Ain Dah Yung Center has lost about $ 16,000 per month since the start of the pandemic, said residential manager Holly Henning. But the low-interest loans, along with the COVID-19 emergency grants, have helped the center “manage” much of the risk premiums and staff salaries.

“Pandemic, then riots”

The Minneapolis American Indian Center received about $ 300,000 from the loan and has not fired or fired any employees, said executive director Mary LaGarde. But the recovery was delayed when riots following the murder of George Floyd by police destroyed grocery stores and disrupted buses, sending the center scrambling to get essential supplies to families.

“For us it was like a pandemic, then riots. And now it’s the pandemic and the consequences of all the violence. So we had a double whammy here, ”said LaGarde.

While many organizations see the rapid shift to virtual services as a triumph, they are concerned about customers being left behind. Native Americans are often on the other side of the “digital divide” that separates the haves and have-nots of the Internet, especially on reservations.

There are no exact figures on the population of urban Native Americans without internet access, but several organizations cited a decrease in customer numbers in part due to a lack of Wi-Fi access.

“The concern is our ability to connect with our community… due to the pre-existing issues around the digital divide, it has been more difficult for them to connect,” said Hobot. “The sooner we can have a bigger impact on foot traffic and face-to-face meetings, the better. ”

“Mitakuye Oyasin: we are all linked”

The pandemic shows no signs of abating and nonprofits are gearing up as the crisis exacerbates existing disparities in housing, employment and health care. As federal lawmakers continue to debate the next stimulus package, these groups are working to ensure that the voices of urban Native Americans are not left behind.

Stately at the health clinic sees this period of addressing racism and other inequalities as a prime time to advocate for improved social service systems.

“There is a saying in Dakota, the Lakota culture which is ‘Mitakuye Oyasin’, we are all related. And this virus has shown us precisely that we are all related. My ability to survive and my ability to thrive and be healthy is tied to everyone around me. And so, we have the opportunity here too as a human race to evolve and become even better. “