Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Browning, Mont.-May 18, 2021 was a great day for hundreds of Alberta citizens as they crossed the border for a free COVID-19 vaccination. The mobile clinic was set up on the U.S. side of the border and was sponsored by the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana.

The idea for the endeavor started because the The Aamskapi'Piikuni Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana, had an abundance of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines left after inoculating most of its members. vaccine. Rather than letting the vaccine go to waste, they looked for a way to use it. Almost immediately their attention was drawn to their neighbors to the North.

Bonnie Healy, health director for the Blackfoot Confederacy, who helped co-ordinate the vaccination clinic, said the response has been overwhelming. She told Canada Press, "I had a hard time believing it was that hard to get a shot in Canada."

For weeks, Alberta has had the highest active-case rate per 100,000 peope of all the provinces and territories in Canada.

While people in Alberta have lined up to get their shots at their local pharmacies, there's a supply issue. Many of the vaccines are made in India, which is a current hotspot for the COVID-19 crisis. So suppliers are not able to deliver on orders, and in turn, pharmacies have to cancel patient appointments, especially in rural Alberta. Shipments have been sporadic and the number of doses pharmacies have been receiving can change without notice.

As a result, not only can people not get their first vaccination, but many who have gotten a first vaccination cannot get a second one.

When the Blackfeet Tribe saw the dilemma their neighbors faced, they decided to share their abundance with Canadians. Montana Blackfeet contacted Health Canada, provincial and state officials, and leaders of the Alberta Blackfoot First Nations to get the ball rolling. At first, they were offering the free vaccines to First Nations only, but soon opened the offer to anyone who had need.

It took about a week for the tribal administration to approve the idea and for the clinic to become realty . Then the Canadian and US governments worked together, along with efforts from the Blackfeet Tribe, Southern Peigan Clinic, Blackfeet DES, Blackfoot Confederacy, Siksika Nation, Piikani Nation, Blood Tribe, U.S. Customs, Canada Border Services, and health officials from State and Provincial governments. At first, the Blackfeet Tribe offered a two-day clinic in late April, where they vaccinated more than 450 people.

By 9 a.m. on May 15, a line of cars more than a mile long waited for the procedures to begin. Some people had slept in their cars all night to make sure they got a vaccination before the supply ran out. Some people drove hundreds of miles, like Ken Sawatzky who made the 620-kilometer round trip from Calgary to get the April vaccine and returned over the same route for this second shot. Another man flew in from Toronto. Cars of 18-year-olds drove through the site, turning the event into a celebration.

Health workers from the Blackfeet Tribe and members of the Montana National Guard administer the vaccine. The events have been in a drive-through format at the Pegan-Carway border crossing. People are vaccinated, watched for 15 minutes, and then sent back across the border.

The Aamskapi Pikuni leading the outreach is one of four tribal nations under the Siksikaitsitapi-Blackfoot Confederacy Tribal Council. Its territory stretches from the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta and Saskatchewan to the Yellowstone River in Montana. 34,000 members make up the Blackfoot Confederacy. 

Native Americans and Alaskan Natives in the U.S. are four times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19, according to the CDC. However, community before self has long been a core principle in Native American culture.

James McNeely

Cars lined up early to take advantage of free vaccinations from the Blackfeet Tribe.

"I am actually brought to tears today hearing that the efforts to assist our relatives and folks across the medicine line with vaccines has been awesome. Many of the folks cried today when they were able to get vaccinated.," Blackfeet Tribe spokesperson Piita'hkotokii James McNeely told Fox TV digital. "Indian people are generous, and we've been vaccinating many people from all walks of life," 

"We're happy to get down here. It's a relief," Cathy Goodbrand told Canadian Press. She and her husband drove from Calgary for their second shots. "It's absolutely beautiful. The Blackfoot Indians are just coming through (for us)."

Catherine Bechard, regional Indigenous Affairs adviser for the Canada Border Services Agency, told Canadian Press she jumped at a chance to help out at the clinic. "It's just an amazing thing what they're doing and a gift they're giving to Canadians."