How Our Indian Country Flattened the Curve
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has for centuries practiced the Booger Dance to ward off illnesses and other malevolent forces. As night descends, men selected as “boogers,” or evil entities, appear in tattered clothing and absurd masks made from gourds, wood, or hornets’ nests. They mimic outsiders (typically Euro-Americans) and exaggerate lewd behavior as they dance. I was taught growing up that the dance stemmed from the tribe’s experiences with devastating sickness such as smallpox, which Europeans brought to American soil. The ceremony is a reminder that we must always work to keep our home and people safe.
I am an enrolled member of the EBCI and a lifelong resident of our ancestral lands. This is my first pandemic, but not my tribe’s. COVID-19 is merely our sovereign nation’s latest test ofs on the East Coast, with . We are also a community that depends heavily on tourism. While some of our counterparts in Indian Country are facing , the EBCI has ensured that our health-care facilities meet crucial needs, that community members receive essential services, and that our economy is stabilized during the shutdown. We have managed, in fact, to handle the pandemic more effectively than many other areas in North Carolina.
