Ariel Rodriquez, Northern Cheyenne fire fighter. Photo courtesy A Cheyenne Voice
Ariel Rodriquez, Northern Cheyenne comes home with LoLo Regulars to help fight Muddy Creek Fire 2
By Clara Caufield
Native Sun News Correspondent MISSOULA, Mont. –– Ariel Rodriquez, at age 23 got tired of holding down desk, waitress and in-side summer jobs to help finance her college education. She decided to “contribute” by becoming a firefighter, part of the LoLo Regulars, a USFS crew based out of Missoula. Little did she know that her second fire assignment would be at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, one of 229 fire fighters helping contain a 2,500 acre wild fire at a cost of $1,092,000. Rodriquez, an enrolled Northern Cheyenne, daughter of Alice (Whiteman) and Orlando Rodriquez, granddaughter of Leroy and Nan Whiteman, said, “I wanted to be outdoors and make a difference, be a team player and maybe team leader someday.” She is one of three women and the only Native American in the 20 member LoLo Regulars, a Type 11 Initial Attack force, in her first year with that top-rated group. “I wasn’t picked because of my race, but my ability,” she quickly clarified. This years’ LoLo crew boss is also female, in her 13th year, praising Ariel as an enthusiastic addition to the team. The elite crew also consists of other firefighters from Missoula, Superior, Nine Mile, Plains and Sealy, Mont., selected through rigorous competition. Ariel applied for the LoLo crew because she spends college summer breaks with her family in Missoula, attending college in Durango, Colo., pre-law student. Her Cheyenne grandfather, Leroy Whiteman describes her as an athletic “tom-boy”, cross country runner, softball catcher, basketball and soccer player, not afraid to compete with men. That serves her in good stead for demanding firefighting work, a field dominated by men. Ariel explained the exacting requirements to become one of the USFS LoLo crew: First, passing a drug test, “no problem for me” she smiled. Then a PAC test, completing a three mile trek while carrying a fifty pound pack over rough forest terrain in under forty minutes. She also completed a month of guard school and three months of saw training at Sealy Lake, now a certified sawyer. The work schedule while on a fire can be exhausting—twelve hours per day for five days, unless circumstances require more. On her first fire she averaged 16 hours per day for more than five days. All while carrying a 50 pound pack, Plaski (axe), combi (shovel and pick), space blanket, files, rain jacket, chaps, 46 & 36” Stihl chainsaw, weighing another 30 pounds. And of course the gear, boots, helmet, leather gloves, heavy pants etc. probably weigh another ten pounds. Pay ranges from $12/hour when on call but overtime, when on a fire, can be “sweet”, she smiled. Her earnings are set aside for college expenses. “Do you ever think about being a role model for other Native women?” this reporter asked. “Not really”, she replied, “My Mom, a very feminine type, with a master’s degree has been a role model to me, always telling me I can do whatever I want. She just didn’t think that would involve becoming a ‘rough’ firefighter, because I’m also good at office work. She wonders why I am doing this. But, my Grandpa, Dad and little brother think it is cool.” (Clara Caufield can be reached @ acheyennevoice@gmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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