Pipe load for truck - big wampum - you give firewater - we pow wow - then do.

Pick-up in Rio Rancho NM. Old job site miles from town. Bad directions. Sand up to my ankles. "Things" crawling all over. Shipper didn't have enough dunnage. Difficult to get trailer level enough to load. Got stuck in sand twice. 5 hours of work. 12 pieces of 45 foot pipe headed to Oklahoma City.

Americans (Native) loading the truck. These guys were good. Hard working, well spoken, professional and committed to safety. They treated me with respect. I treated them with respect. We worked as a team. We got the job done.

In reality, I'm the "foreigner" in their land. Maybe they should be calling me names like wetback, rag head, ni**er, jew or worse. Never happened. We have a job to do.

Bottom line is, I hate prejudice. I hate stereotypes. If you don't like to work with folks slightly different than yourself, man or woman, find yourself another line of work. I don't want you anywhere around me.

*** Nowhere on the web could I find a photo of a "professional" Native American in a "work" environment. This photo is Chief Chip-Pin (Always Riding) of the Uta Tribe.