Louis Krauss
Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS — Growing up as a kid in Minneapolis, Johnny Crow never saw Native American firefighters manning the trucks responding to emergencies in his Phillips neighborhood south of downtown.
Still, it didn’t deter Crow, a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, from becoming a firefighter for the city — a decision he looks back on with pride.
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“That made a huge difference in the community for them to see a Native man with long hair that looks like me on a fire rig going to 911 calls,” Crow said.
About six months ago, Crow, 37, and three other Minneapolis firefighters — Bobby Headbird, 38, Capt. Michael Graves, 41, and fire motor operator Jesse Strong, 45, teamed up at Fire Station 6 downtown to respond to emergency calls on Engine 10. It’s the first time the city has had an all-Native crew, who spoke about their jobs ahead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday.
Graves, who was recently promoted to captain, said bringing the crew together was intentional, with the goal of showing Native American kids and adults alike that they can also work for the fire department. The four said they hope it can help build trust between the department and the communities they serve.
“That they would see people that look like them, and kids could see someone to look up to and something to aspire to, that was a big conversation we had,” said Graves, a member of the Red Lake Nation.
Along with responding to fires and emergency medical calls, the group has gone to various community events in the city’s Little Earth and Franklin neighborhoods, which both have high Native American populations. The response has been positive, Graves said, with some captains telling him callers will sometimes say they wish the all-Native crew would be the ones to respond.
“We had a call not far from here where it was unhoused Natives, and when we showed up, they were just completely different than when another crew responded,” Graves said.
Strong, a member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, said he and Crow grew up in the same area of south Minneapolis, and that it was important for them to not replicate the struggles with poverty, drug use and violence they saw around them. He said he hopes the crew’s interactions with young kids can steer them in the right direction.
“I would hope that they wouldn’t see us as so far removed from there,” Strong said.
The four had instant chemistry, and Strong said they have “probably the best teamwork I’ve seen.”
That goes back to childhood for Headbird and Graves, whose families are close. Earlier this year, the four firefighters got a warm welcome as they drove their firetruck in the city’s annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives March. They waved to friends and community members and got positive feedback from other Native firefighters, said Headbird, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
At the same time, Crow said, it can be difficult knowing many of the people they serve, considering some calls end in tragedy.
“It’s the dark side of being part of the community,” Crow said. “That’s kind of what led me on my own journey of dealing with PTSD and the hardships of being a first responder.”
Crow said the positive outcomes and chance to do good make the hardships worth it. It’s particularly moving for him talking to kids who are interested in the job.
“I had teenagers ask about what they have to do after high school to become a first responder — and not just firefighters, but first responders,” Crow said. “I think that’s pretty neat, and it’s because they see us in this position.”
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