Have you ever longed for the wisdom and knowledge of your ancestors, to include parents and grandparents?
Many of my friends, relatives and colleagues share that longing (not all) and they rely on that wisdom and knowledge to guide them in their daily lives, both good and bad. This reliance and knowledge is very important today, because it is the key to our survival as New Mexicans.
The coronavirus is not the first pandemic in New Mexico. I don’t have the space in this letter to retrace the devastation of illness and pandemics in our region, but I knew many New Mexicans who survived the 1918, pandemic which was erronously labeled as the “Spanish Flu.”
The people that I have interviewed and discussed this subject with have one important element that stands out, “the survival and welfare of the people and the ecology of our community.”
Of course, there is mention of the economic impact and devastation of the economy of our region (the Rio Arriba) then and today, during a devastating event such as the coronavirus epidemic. But when you think about it for a moment, the people and the preservation of our precious environment is far more important, especially for future generations.
My father Bryan Miller, was a wildlife biologist and epidemiologist for the state of New Mexico for over 40 years. He never had to deal with a worldwide epidemic as we have today, but he was able to eradicate and control many outbreaks (with the help of a dedicated staff, scientific colleagues and the cooperation and support of New Mexico communities) which included death from bubonic plague, encephalitis and hanta virus in New Mexico.
He was also part of the scientific team that developed (many years ago) the current response to pandemics and widespread illness for the state of New Mexico that is currently in place today.
My father and his colleagues faced the same opposition from the business community and political interests that our current governor faces today. In the end, social distancing and community quarantines caused some people financial loss and economic recovery, but it also saved many lives because the diseases did not escalate out of control and there was not wide spread death in New Mexico.
Because of these politically controversial distancing policies for temporary isolation, New Mexico’s economy recovered in a short period of time. Personal sacrifice is often the key to community survival.
Our community needs to focus on the elimination of the current federal policy of disaster capitalism and focus on the implementation of progressive democracy in the tradition of the centuries old practice of comunidad (community).
If readers are interested in local pandemics in New Mexico, read “We All Fall Down” in the book “The Great Taos Bank Robbery,” by Tony Hillerman. This essay has been criticized as “sensational fiction” in several politically motivated publications. Tony Hiillerman was editor-in-chief of the Santa Fe New Mexican when this article was written.
Michael Miller
La Puebla