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News
Smoke Signals
Grand Ronde staff joins Native firefighting strike-team
By Oscar Johnson
Piling into a fire engine and driv
ing over 1,200 miles just to hang out
in three-digit degree weather, squelch
blazing brush fires, chase runaway
cows and build fences my not be
everyone's idea of summer fun. But
for Jeff Nepstad and fellow Grand
Ronde foresters Pete Wakeland and
Mike Wilson, "it's the thrill of arriv
ing at the fire the unknown adven
ture that's the big kicker."
The three-man firefighting team
from Grand Ronde' s Natural Re
sources Division made the journey to
New Mexico and Texas last month
as part of a cooperative effort by the
Tribe, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and Texas' forestry department.
The trio joined a crew of four Na
tive strike-teams with five fire engines
from California, Idaho, New Mexico,
Alaska and Tennessee to help local
firefighters combat summer blazes that
accompany the dry season.
"It was really nice being our own
little forestry family made up of
strike-teams and engines from the
Nez Perce, Laguna, Luni and Grand
Ronde reservations," recalls Wilson.
The Grand Ronde Natural Resources
Lands Coordinator adds, "There's a
lot of pride in Indian tribes'
firefighting capabilities."
Wilson's team was the
first of two that traveled
to the Central Southern
states to help fight fires.
A second crew consist
ing of Natural Resources
staff, Bill Miller, Mike
Karnosh and Lynn
Robertson returned last
week after this issue of
Smoke Signals went to
press.
The first strike-team
started working in the
Mescalero Reservation
in New Mexico before
moving on to the nearby
towns 'of Ruidosd arid
Roswell. The crew then
made its way to Waco,
Texas.
In addition to helping
the two states shoulder their burden
of summer fire fighting, Wakeland
says the tribal fire engine brings in
$36 per hour during the trip and both
he and Wilson also earned their cer
tification as "engine bosses."
Nepstad, a veteran crew leader who
oversaw the training, says the engine
boss is "in charge of the fire engine,
the techniques and strategies of fire
suppression and keeping the crew
alive." He says the certification also
means there are two more Grand
Ronde staff who can take charge of
the Tribe's six fire engines if the need
arises.
There was little need this year, how
ever, for Grand Ronde's first strike
team to engage a full-fledged inferno.
With the exception of a farm fire of
hay and cow manure in Roswell, New
Mexico which Wakeland says made
for a colorful metaphor for the task
at hand, the crew saw little action. He
says they spent most of their 21 days
in the field just keeping busy.
"They put us on projects building
and repairing fences and getting their
cows off the road," says Nepstad.
Citing the boredom that often comes
with the long waits between fires he
adds, "anything is better than bore
dom when your on fire watch,"..
The fires the crew watches for and.
fights' have several causes , such' as 1
lightening. In fact Wakeland says his
most harrowing experience was when
lightening struck just a hundred
yards or so from where the crew was
spending the night.
"It was loud!" says Wakeland, re
calling the intensity of the moment.
"They've got some really great light
ening down there."
Electrical wires and arson are also
common causes of many deadly sum
mer infernos, according to Nepstad.
He says carelessness is also a major
contributor.
"Believe it or not, people throwing
cigarette butts out of their car win
dows is also a reason," Nepstad says
in disbelief. "It's amazing how many
fires you find by the side of the road. "
Although Wakeland and Nepstad
say last month's trip was not the most
adventurous of their fire watch ca
reer, they both say they were glad to
be a part of the team.
However, it was not just the Grand
Ronde crew that was glad to help, but
all three members say their hosts'
appreciation was extended in the
form of warm hospitality. From
needed tools to gracious meals they
say they were well received and
looked after by the Texas forestry
service and especially the Mescalero
Reservation community. -
For Wilson, this warm reception
was the biggest reward of all.
"I really enjoyed being on the
Mescalero Reservation it was re
ally Beautiful a'rid we" 'itieV some ' re
ally nice people there," says Wilson.
"By being a part of their forestry team
we got to be a part of the reservation."
Tribe partners with
Hewlett-Packard
Officials of the Grand Ronde Tribe
announced the signing of a long-term
contract to provide services to
Hewlett-Packard's Corvallis-based
inkjet supply unit.
Under the new business relation
ship, the Tribe's Spirit mountain De
velopment Corporation will receive,
clean, and ship "totes," the hard plasr
tic boxes that the component manu
facturer uses to receive supplier parts.
The Tribe's new venture will employ
12 workers in its tote cleaning opera
tions and related warehousing and
distribution systems.
"We're delighted to have a business
relationship with one of Oregon's
great companies. We see it as an op
portunity to diversify our economic
base, give something back to the
Corvallis community," said Bruce
Thomas, Spirit Mountain Develop
ment President. Its relationship with
Hewlett-Packard marks the Tribe's
first venture into high technology sec
tor. This new economic venture does
not involve gaming and does not use
any special property tax or other ben
efits. The Tribe's relationship with
Hewlett-Packard will not displace any
HP employees.
'Indian Women in Action' take on health issues
By Oscar Johnson
Grand Ronde health officials last
month joined forces with nearly a
dozen other experts on topics as di
verse as domestic violence, breast
and cervical cancer, welfare reform
and women in prison to address
health issues affecting women in In
dian Country. ,v
The "Indian Women in Action
Workshop" was facilitated by Grand
Ronde Health and Wellness clinic's
part-time Physicians Assistant,
Kathleen Marquart. Tribal Health
Promotion Specialist, Darlene Aaron
was also on hand.
The two-day-event was part of the
networking efforts fostered by the
National Indian Women's Health Steer
ing Committee a nonprofit group
representing 19 different tribes and
urban Indian organizations, jointly
sponsored by Indian Health Services
(IHS) and the U.S. Public Health
Service's Office on Women's Health.
"We want to promote health educa
tion on reservations; a national health
policy on Indian women's health; and
identify women leaders in women's
health," said IHS West's Director of
Liaison Services, Corolyn Lofgren.
Although ex
perts at the work
shop agreed that
lack of research
specific to Native
Americans
makes it hard to
determine ex
actly which dis
eases are the big
gest risks, local
representation
offered some in
sight into what
might be taking
the lead in Grand
Ronde.
"In addition to diabetes, now we
are finding a lot of cases of cancer,"
said Aaron who regularly pays home
visits to Grand Ronde tribal Elders.
But she adds with concern that "now
we're seeing cancer in all ages El
ders, people in their 30s and 40s. I
don't know why."
Marquart, who also works part-time
at the Native American Rehabilitation
Association's (NARA) Portland clinic,
expressed concern that many Indian
women especially those over 50
0"
o r V
Kathleen Marquart
are not getting regular women's
wellness exams.
"If detected in time cervical cancer
is 100 percent curable," Marquart
said in her workshop presentation on
the Status of Indian Women's Health
in the Northwest. "Unfortunately,"
she added, "women quit getting pap
exams when they're older but the
risk of cervical cancer is higher in
older women."