美国国家公共电台 NPR On The Navajo Nation, 5,000 Workers Dependent On A Federal Paycheck

On The Navajo Nation, 5,000 Workers Dependent On A Federal Paycheck

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The Navajo Nation president says that Congress should exempt¹ the tribe from the partial federal government shutdown. Historically, treaties have guaranteed the Navajo and many other tribes federal financial assistance for health, education and economic development. So the shutdown is having an outsized impact. From member station KJZZ, Laurel Morales reports from Flagstaff.

LAUREL MORALES, BYLINE²: On the Navajo Nation, half of the tribe is unemployed³. But at least 5,000 tribal⁴ members rely on paychecks from the federal government. Missing one, which happened for the first time on Friday, can have painful ripple⁵ effects. Community leader Angela Cody says one paycheck often has to feed the immediate⁶ family as well as the extended family.

ANGELA CODY: People are worried about their next mortgage payment, their car payments. At the family level, you know, there's a lot of stress - finance stress. As a whole, we are dependent on these employees and federal monies every day in some way.

MORALES: Even if they aren't getting paid, many have to work. And so they rely on the federally funded preschool program Head Start to care for their young kids.

(SOUNDBITE OF CROSSTALK)

MORALES: Head Start teacher Maxine Jensen sits on a tiny plastic blue chair working on a number puzzle with a group of 4-year-olds on the western edge of the Navajo Nation.

MAXINE JENSEN: Four, five, six, seven...

MORALES: The tribe's Head Start program is already shrinking. They lost 10 centers last year because there were no buses available to shuttle kids from across the rural reservation to classes. Now the program doesn't have the enrollment⁷ numbers it needs to stay open.

JENSEN: I have 12 now. We're supposed to have 15. We can't seem to get enough children because of the distance.

MORALES: Many federal offices across the Navajo Nation are closed because of the shutdown. The federal money they rely on to run the program has been slow to arrive.

JENSEN: We don't have enough cleaning supplies. It's a long process to get those kinds of things. And so a lot of times, we're buying our own supplies to get the kids' hands clean and all that.

MORALES: To make matters worse, unplowed roads made it near impossible for parents to drive their kids to Head Start since the shutdown began. Only half of the Bureau of Indian Affairs crews who helped the tribe maintain the roads showed up to clear snow during the last two snowstorms. And those who are working aren't getting paid. There are 1,600 miles of paved roads and almost 6,000 miles of dirt roads. Head Start teacher Shanelle Yazzie says she could barely get to work.

SHANELLE YAZZIE: The only roads being plowed⁸ over the last two weeks were the - like, the main interstate. We don't really travel on that. So the only way you can get by is probably with four-by-four, and not many people have that out here.

MORALES: If a dirt road isn't maintained during a snowstorm, a couple of things can happen. The snow can melt and make the road impassable or the snow piles up. Either way, you're stuck. Navajo President Russell Begaye says, many Navajo live without running water and electricity, so they have to haul water to drink and wood to stay warm. And they have to eat.

RUSSELL BEGAYE: Getting out to buy groceries or maybe there's an emergency where they have to transport a family member to a hospital maybe to refill their medication or to refill their oxygen tank - so it's a life-or-death situation in many instances.

MORALES: Begaye says, if the shutdown continues, it's only going to get worse, as the National Weather Service predicts more snow next week.

For NPR News, I'm Laurel Morales in Flagstaff.

1 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

8 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句