ST. IGNATIUS — Native American firefighters have been an integral part of Montana's wildfire response for over 60 years, from pioneering smokejumpers in the 1960s to elite hotshot crews that battled blazes across the nation.
Their contributions helped protect communities and landscapes while creating economic opportunities for tribal members, though federal funding cuts have since diminished their once-prominent role.
Homer Courville, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, was among the first Native Americans to break barriers in wildfire fighting. He started young, fighting his first fire at just 16 years old.
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"I was interested, of course, I spent so much time in the woods it was. It was a good niche for me," Courville said.
In 1961, Courville became one of four Native Americans recruited as Missoula smokejumpers. He recalled a memorable jump in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
"I think there was 8 of us or 12. I can't recall, but after we had the overhead generally jumped first. So 2 of our overhead jumped out and we had two retardant aircraft fly right under him. And I thought, wow, I don't know if I wanna do this," Courville said.
Courville's group set the stage for what would become the Montana Indian Firefighter program, established in the late 1970s. The program grew rapidly, deploying Native crews across the country to battle wildfires.
"I think probably at the height of the Montana Indian firefighter program, we probably had gosh, I can't even tell you how many crews. I would guess 150 maybe or 120 firefighter crews throughout the state," Courville said.
Leon Shortman, a member of the Gros Ventre Nation, joined this expanding movement in 1976 when he left the Fort Belknap reservation seeking firefighting work.
"I hitchhiked to the Bitterroot supervisor's office and I asked them for a job and they gave me one," Shortman said.
The opportunity transformed his life over the next two decades as he served as a trail crew member, Bitterroot Hot Shot, and smokejumper.
"It was a world-changing experience for me," Shortman said. "My career and my life is so changed because of the consideration of the Forest Service. I sacrificed every part of my life to give to them to show I can defeat the stereotypes."
Beyond personal transformation, the Montana Indian Firefighter program brought significant economic benefits to local communities. The Montana Indian Firefighting program contributed millions of dollars to regional economies through their seasonal work.
"We were contributing probably millions of dollars to this valley through the Montana Indian firefighter program. It meant a lot to a lot of our local vendors and obviously, they made a lot of money. So, I think that was a big impact and I don't think people realize how big an impact that was," Courville said.
However, federal funding cuts over time led to reduced hiring and crew numbers, cutting fire teams across the state nearly in half. What was once a peak period for Native firefighters has become a memory of their contributions to wildfire management.
"Native firefighters were the biggest resource used on national firefighters and I always thought that was incredibly cool," Shortman said.
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