It was not until 2020 that I made my first outreach to the native tribes in Arizona and New Mexico. My interviews that year were exclusively with native women living on the reservation and working in Navaho owned Outposts. Their covid stories were straightforward, heartbreaking and completely without grievance. Remote multigenerational living, limited medical resources and political complications between Navaho Nation, the State, and public health officials combined to create interventions were brutal in their execution. What struck me most was the complete humility and grace with which the shared their stories.
In 2022 I met Elouise. As a manager of an Indian Outpost owned by Bowlin Travel Centers, her story has stayed with me ever since. In search of an update, I went back to their store in Bluewater New Mexico. Bowlin is a 100 year old company with 10 locations between Arizona and New Mexico. Because their outposts are remote, they offer on-premise housing to key staff members. While I worried that this arrangement might be rife for a power imbalance at best, the workers that I have talked with seemed thankful and genuinely happy.
Here is the 2022 interview. Her story is so difficult, but her resilience is profound.
Update – Elouise moved on last year to a new job, but I got to speak with Joseph and Noah. They both knew Elouise and they shared her spirit and dedication to their work and to their employer. Interestingly, when I asked them what they needed, they both gave me the exact same answer that Elouise did. In that way, things have not changed in Bluewater.
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