A lot of our youth aren’t vaccinated. So as a tribal leader for my district, some of the older people call me and ask me “Lisa, how are you able to convince my grandchildren or my nieces and nephews to get vaccinated? Because they don't want to get vaccinated. Their friend told them that [something bad] would happen, or he saw something on YouTube or TikTok, so he's too scared to get it.
I talked to a couple of my friends, and I have one that's just, I don't know what it is. I can’t convince her. So currently, we're not making it where we're forcing you to get the vaccination, but we're encouraging you. If you can, if you do get the vaccination, we’ll give you $500. But even with that, I'm surprised a lot of our numbers aren't where they should be even with this incentive.
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Lisa Georgeson is a lifelong resident and member of the Spirit Lake Tribe and was elected in 2020 as the Wood Lake Representative for Spirit Lake’s Tribal Council.