Corina Chao

Corina Chao, a public health professional at the University of New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice, works on efforts to engage pediatric providers in trauma-informed care, particularly focusing on the impact of community trauma, including discrimination and racial trauma, as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). When COVID-19 data showed disproportionate impact on BIPOC communities, and the voices of BLM and the racial justice movement became louder and louder in response to police killing Black people, Corina considered her own community’s role in perpetuating racism. Corina is a 2014 graduate of Winnacunnet High School in Hampton and, after collaborating with Penacook Abenaki leaders, started a petition to end the use of the offensive Winnacunnet Warrior mascot which perpetuates harmful, stereotypical Native American imagery. This would be in line with the efforts of Native peoples and experts in the wellbeing of children including the American Psychological Association who found that the use of stereotypical Native American imagery is harmful to not only Native peoples, but are also undermines the educational experiences of members of all communities. And in 2002, the New Hampshire State Board of Education agreed and passed a resolution on the elimination of schools’ use of Native American mascots.

There is no denying the link between current and historic, structural and systemic racism and the impact on heath outcomes, especially for Native Americans. Native Americans experienced wide health disparities before the pandemic and during the pandemic were one of the groups at highest risk for the disease with a mortality rate that was 1.8 times higher than Non-Hispanic Whites.  A majority of Native American households (55%) report facing serious financial problems during the pandemic. According to the CDC, “persisting racial inequity and historical trauma have contributed to disparities in health and socioeconomic factors between American Indians/Alaska Natives and white populations that have adversely affected tribal communities.”

Many groups in the country and in New Hampshire have focused resources and efforts precisely around the communities of color most impacted during the pandemic. We all must take an immediate and long-term antiracist approach which starts with us in our families and in our communities.

Through Corina’s effort to remove the offensive imagery, Winnacunnet is becoming a more inclusive place for young people to learn – one that does not degrade or offend the heritage of some students or people. When students, including BIPOC girls and young women, feel welcome in a school they may feel more welcome in a community. Corina deserves to be recognized as a pandemic hero for her efforts to dismantle white supremacy in her own community that contributes to a system of oppression and health inequity.