Members of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana are hard at work in Texas and the South, assisting the Federal Emergency Management Agency with hurricane relief efforts.

The tribe has sent upwards of 500 people to ensure victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita get the services they need. "I think our people have survived all these years by helping others," Mary Reevis, the Blackfeet lead supervisor in Dallas, told The Gainesville Daily Register.

"We had a terrible flood back in 1964 and lost many lives. A lot of people came from all over the country to help us and we never forgot that. We consider working with FEMA our opportunity to give back," she said.

In Dallas, a team of Blackfeet workers spend 12-hour days reaching out to hurricane victims. "While all FEMA workers offer compassion and sympathetic support to storm victims, the Blackfeet workers may just bring with them a greater understanding of how it feels to be displaced and lost in a world that continues to turn while so many are in limbo," FEMA said in a press release.

Get the Story:
Blackfeet Indian FEMA workers recognized (The Gainesville Daily Register 2/1)

Relevant Links:
Blackfeet Nation - http://www.blackfeetnation.com
Federal Emergency Management Agency - http://www.fema.gov

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