Even before the pandemic hit the U.S, unemployment rates on Native American reservations were higher than the rest of the country. Craig Falcon is from the Blackfeet Tribe and lives on the tribe’s reservation in Browning, Montana.

“I’d say that unemployment stands at over 60%, and that was before the virus,” Falcon said. And now, he said, the rate has climbed even higher as tribal businesses remain closed.

Falcon is a cultural consultant and works with museums, schools and the film industry across the country, providing cultural education. All of his contracts canceled once the pandemic hit, and he fears if we have a second wave, his business might go under. He does, however, feel lucky that he has savings and that he’s pretty self-sufficient, he said.

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