Flintco forms Native American division

By Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma-based construction company has created a new division to better work with the nation’s many American Indian tribes.

Rex Woods, senior vice president of Tulsa-based Flintco Cos., said building on American Indian land brings a unique set of requirements.

“We’ve built projects on tribal land that have shut down entirely during funerals,” he said. “We didn’t shut down the BOK Center for a funeral.”

Flintco is an Indian-run company that has constructed dozens of projects on tribal land. Chairman Robin Flint Ballenger said the new division is an outgrowth of the company’s years of experience gained through its successes and occasional missteps.

“We’ve gathered a body of knowledge and learned how to do things better,” she said. “It’s no secret that Native American work is close to my heart, so this has been a baby of mine for years.”

Woods, who is leading the new division, said moves by tribes to increase their sovereignty over the last five years have made a dedicated division crucial for tribal development.

“Every project is different,” he said. “Every nation has different regulations and bid processes.”

Though many tribal requirements are mundane, others are steeped in the most intimate parts of Indian culture.

For example, during the construction of the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital on Navajo land in Arizona, Flintco workers accidentally uncovered bones of tribesmen during earth-moving, said Vernell Chase, tribal liaison with Flintco’s Native American Division and a member of the Gros-Ventre tribe of northern Montana.

To properly respect the dead, Flintco stopped the project, took advice from tribal elders, had a medicine man hold a ceremony, moved the bones to another location and organized another ceremony to cleanse the site.

“All the employees took part in the ceremonies,” Chase said.

In addition to coordinating projects with tribal leaders and keeping site managers and employees aware of the expectations of each nation, the division plans to provide training to Indian workers in everything from industrial tools to federal regulations.

Chase said Flintco wants to hire local subcontractors for projects and involve each tribe in as much of the construction as possible.

“The individuals in the tribes take ownership of the projects, since it’s something the local work force participates in within their own backyard,” she said.