MISSOULA — A CSKT tribal member who became one of the first Native American smokejumpers has been recognized with one of Montana forestry's highest honors.
Homer Courville joined the prestigious group of Forestry Pioneers on Thursday, after a lifetime of service.
Courville spent much of his life serving others in Montana forestry. He became a smokejumper at just 18 years old, and held many roles in forestry over 32 years. On Thursday, that career was recognized with the DNRC Pioneer Award.
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"It brought back some good memories of working with some icons in forestry and fire," Courville said.
The award recognizes a specific kind of contribution to the profession.
"We look for people who have really furthered the cause in Montana Forestry," Tony Harwood said.
I first met Courville a year ago and learned about his work with programs like the Montana Indian Firefighters Program, which helped Native wildland firefighters build careers and fight fires across the country. Harwood, a member of the DNRC committee, says that legacy helped earn Courville the nomination.
"Homer was a legend in smokejumping and working with the Salish and Kootenai Tribes in his second career," Harwood said.
For Courville, one of his greatest accomplishments over his career wasn't an award. It was watching the next generation of firefighters grow.
"My interest and gratification with the fire program was seeing these younger people grow and become good firefighters and fire staff," Courville said.
As he looks at where wildland firefighting goes next, Courville says protecting firefighters should remain the priority.
"It hurts to see some of the fatalities, injuries accidents, we're putting people in danger where they shouldn't be," Courville said.
Courville's name will now be permanently engraved at Montana DNRC headquarters, honoring a career spent training firefighters and helping shape Montana's fire service.
