The Navajo Nation Division of Social Services has paid nearly two dozen funeral homes a total of $875,000 for outstanding debt owed to them from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funeral homes on the reservation have provided burial services for Navajo families but have not received reimbursement from the tribal government since 2020 under an assistance program.
Officials say a large backlog of reimbursement claims had built up from funeral home directors, and at one tribal services office they found a whole box of unpaid invoices. They say the employee who left them unprocessed no longer works for the tribal government.
Some funeral homes were owed amounts that reached into the six figures and were forced to absorb huge costs as the pandemic claimed the lives of thousands of tribal members.
According to President Buu Nygren’s office, more than 530 Navajo families have buried loved ones since 2020.
"This was a serious issue,” Nygren said in a press release. “Paying these overdue funds helps to support local funeral homes that provide a vital service to our communities. It restores integrity and trust with these businesses.”
As of the end of September, more than 2,200 people had died from COVID on the Navajo Nation.