The Changing Face of Government Agencies:
Careers and Partnerships

By Barbara Sorensen

Wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes are all natural occurrences that send chills down the spines of most people. Tribal communities are not immune to any of these disasters and though the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was formed in 1979, it is now starting to partner with tribes to ensure that tribal communities receive assistance when needed. Together, the tribes and FEMA are recognizing ways that damage can be eliminated or lessened through preventive work.

ANDREA BOOHER, FEMA

American Indian hand crews are well known in the fire community.

FEMA's Region VIII, which encompasses 28 tribes in the states of North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Colorado, is the first tribal relations cadre formed to work directly with tribal leaders and communities. Del Brewer, Oglala Sioux, was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and serves as tribal relations officer for FEMA. He left his reservation in 1958 to attend college. Brewer returned years later as one of a group of Native Americans trained specifically to meet tribal needs during disasters. He possesses the governmental program knowledge to get relief to disaster victims quickly, and the cultural and personal insight into Indian Country. "I am the liaison between tribes and FEMA. I help establish a governmentto- government relationship. Region VIII is actually the only cadre in the United States made up of Native people, all of whom have strong backgrounds in tribal government. We understand how the tribal cultures and governments work. It makes it easier to open the door."
The development of the tribal relations cadre first took root in 1997. The need was most acutely felt during heavy snowstorms in North Dakota, a state with four reservations. Many tribes felt that they were not receiving the aid to which they were entitled. The problem lay in an undeveloped relationship between the tribes and FEMA. Region VIII's cadre was formed to nurture that relationship and to give tribal officials a forum.

MIKE RIEGER, FEMA

FEMA Director James Lee Witt and FEMA Region VII Director Rick Weiland (right) visit with tribal leaders from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota following the deadly tornado that struck on June 4, 1999.

Career Opportunities Disaster recovery always begins in the hands of local governments. It's the same way with tribes, Del Brewer says, and those affected by the disaster are best suited to direct recovery. Brewer is also quick to point out that the formation of the cadre encourages educational and career opportunities for tribal people. The cadre will hire local people to help with disaster cleanup and they are introducing emergency management course to tribal colleges. "We're trying to build up emergency management tactics on reservations," says Brewer, "to get young people trained and to identify emergency helpers. Our goal is to bring in and train as many local people as we can."
During times of disaster, local tribal members have played crucial roles in the recovery process, ensuring that food and emergency supplies reach the victims in need. Local people have been used as translators and local contractors have been hired to rebuild. Following a tornado in South Dakota, a 30-member construction crew labored 14 hours each day to rebuild a mobile home park in record time, finishing the one-year project in little more than three months.
H.L Frazier, Cheyenne River Sioux, a retired federal employee, worked as a hospital administrator for the Indian Health Service in South Dakota. He is now employed part-time as a FEMA disaster assistant. He believes that FEMA, as well as other federal agencies, offers many career opportunities. "Any federal agency will offer good, secure jobs," he says. "College students can serve in many capacities. There's personnel management, budget management, administration, community relations, human services, and information and planning." In addition, he says, organizations such as FEMA always need people with strong backgrounds in engineering.

Listening to Tribes to Create Proactive Responses
Rick Weiland, FEMA's Region VIII director, believes that the new cadre is a reflection of valuable insights the region has gained from partnership with the tribes—insights into a rich culture and history, a sense of community and a reverent connection with the natural world and environment. Weiland points out that challenges do exist, particularly in the lack of basic infrastructure and services on most Western reservations. As part of the tribal relations program, Region VIII works to share emergency response knowledge with tribes as they develop an emergency management system similar to those used in other counties in the United States. Region VIII also works with reservations on historic preservation projects to ensure that Native American historic and religious sites are protected for future generations.
"We're a proactive agency," explains Weiland. "We bring all 28 tribes to the table to make sure that they know what FEMA has to offer. We deal with disasters when they occur, but we need to know what we can do to prevent disasters. We want to help tribes minimize the impact of a disaster whether it be in property damage, the economy of the community or human life itself." Some preventive measures the cadre has worked on include making sure that people don't build in flood plains and ensuring that they have a safe place to go in the event of a disaster such as a tornado. Fire prevention would entail removing pine needles that might surround a home, building a defensible space around the home and removing dead tree branches.
Another part of prevention is building ongoing relationships with tribes so that they are better prepared even when there's not a disaster. "We need to listen to tribes who have had successful experience with emergency management." In addition, after a disaster has occurred, FEMA organizes an "exit interview" with tribal program managers and council members. Together, they review the entire response process to determine what worked the best and what procedures could be more effective.

ANDREA BOOHER, FEMA

FEMA and tribal communities have developed a strong working relationship.

Connecting with Tribal Culture
"Most tribal governments are skeptical of the federal government," Brewer observes. "You have to demonstrate that you're sincere. It's not an open door policy. You have to demonstrate that you're here to help. There's no place in the United States where an emergency doesn't touch a reservation. The United States has a legal and moral responsibility to treat tribes as sovereign governments and to recognize them as government-to-government entities."
The work of tribal officers like Brewer is already getting results. In 1999 the Turtle Mountain Reservation became the first reservation to receive a grant from FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which provides money to strategically prevent damage and reduce the impact from future disasters.
Anita Blue, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, is director of planning and economic development on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. "Without the cadre," she says, "I don't know what we would have done for our people. Everyone has worked well with the partnership that has been developed between the tribal government and FEMA. They are sensitive to our culture and to our people."
Martina McKinney, Arikara, was the tribal emergency manager for the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota —the Arikara, Mandan and Hidatsa. The Fort Berthold Reservation where McKinney worked spans across five communities and six counties. During the years 1997-1999, the reservation saw spring floods and severe winter storms. Damage to roofs, roads and basements was extensive and many communities were without heat or electricity for three to five days. McKinney says that FEMA was very thorough with organizing people and making sure everyone had work plans. In addition, she adds, "FEMA was very respectful of tribal command and recognized and understood tribal structure. Any technical or monetary assistance we needed we received right away. When FEMA came in and did their assessments, everything just fell into place." Together, the tribes and FEMA also worked to organize preventive measures such as distributing winter survival kits and purchasing generators.
"I've gone on record to say the Indian people in the United States were the first environmentalists," Brewer says. "[The cadre] provides a good model for the rest of the country; how they relate to their community, to their land and their people. We work for the tribes," he emphasizes. "It goes back to history. The Indian people are survivors. They help each other. Indian people have a very strong spiritual tie to Mother Earth and everything that she has to offer—the trees, the water, the land, the animals—everything associated with the Earth."

Barbara Sorensen is senior editor for Winds of Change.