Laboratory retiree Gil Suazo reads from a letter to former Laboratory Director John Browne at a panel discussion last week. Suazo worked at the former Meson Physics Facility and later headed the Lab's tribal relations team in the Community Relations (CRO) Office. Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez, Public AffairsThe Laboratory has made strides in establishing relationships with nearby Native American pueblo governments. But at one time, the Lab didn't give much thought to such relationships, according to Laboratory retiree Gil Suazo of Taos Pueblo.
Today, the creation of an American Indian education and outreach program, the establishment of a tribal relations team and incremental increases in the number of Native Americans working at the Lab are some of the accomplishments Suazo said he's most proud of.
Suazo spoke at an American Indian Heritage Month panel discussion last Thursday at the Canyon School Complex. "Building the Laboratory: The Native American Contribution," is the theme for this year's American Indian Heritage Month celebration at the Lab.
The Lab's American Indian Diversity Working Group this month is sponsoring a series of panel discussions and talks highlighting Native American contributions to the Laboratory, said Chris Echohawk of Environmental Geology and Risk Analysis (EES-9), chair of the working group.
The working group, the Diversity (DVO) Office, the Tribal Relations Team in Community Relations (CRO) and the Diversity Affirmative Action Board cosponsor American Indian Heritage Month at the Laboratory.
"In the 34 years I've been associated with the Laboratory, openness is the biggest change I've seen," said Suazo, who retired from Los Alamos in 2001 and now works in Taos Pueblo's water resources management program.
"Back when I hired on, I don't think the Lab gave any thought to the tribal governments," said Suazo. Access to the Laboratory director by a Native American employee was unheard of, he said. Today, the Lab's tribal relations team in CRO has a regularly scheduled meeting with Interim Laboratory Director Pete Nanos. "I think that's great," said Suazo.
He also lauded a Lab policy that was adopted before Suazo retired, which gives Native American employees leave from their Lab job to serve in tribal government official positions and maintaining 60 percent of their retirement and pension benefits.
Likewise, Connie Padilla of KSL Services, the Laboratory's facilities and support services contract company, has seen changes at the Lab. She came to Los Alamos 27 years ago to work for the Zia Co., she said. Her father, Preston Keevama, is a University of California retiree who worked at the Lab 35 years and informally served as advisor on tribal issues for Lab director Harold Agnew.
Padilla said in her third year working at Los Alamos, she was asked by the Zia Co. to serve on a Department of Energy Native American task force; she was the Zia Co.'s liaison on Native American issues, she said.
"I told them it was important to hire more Native Americans," Padilla said she told her managers. Today, Padilla works to recruit more Native Americans to work at Los Alamos. KSL Services and Padilla is working with the Lab's Tribal Relations team to address employment concerns for Native Americans at the Lab.
Louis Naranjo of Ecology (RRES-ECO) has been a UC employee for 5 years but has worked at the Lab 27 years. A former San Ildefonso Pueblo governor (1987-88), Naranjo said pueblo concerns today are similar to those when he was governor. He said contamination of tribal lands from Laboratory legacy operations is a continuing concern. A memorandum of understanding between San Ildefonso and the Laboratory signed in 1987 has helped improve relations between the two entities.
Naranjo added that he views his job at the Laboratory as an opportunity to educate Native American children about the Laboratory and its world class science, while simultaneously making non-Native Americans more aware of tribal customs and traditions.
"We're Native Americans; we have our own traditions, our own way to tell our stories. Then there's the outside world," said Naranjo. "You have the Native American world and the white man's world . . . we can't lose our culture."
Suazo complimented Padilla for her continuing efforts to recruit Native Americans to come to work at the Lab. He also lauded Naranjo, noting that the first agreement between the Lab and a tribal government was signed with San Ildefonso Pueblo when Naranjo was governor.
Suazo also said working at Los Alamos instilled good work habits and a sense of responsibility in him. "I still use experience I gained here to do my job [at Taos Pueblo]," said Suazo. "That's been a big, big influence on me."
Suazo concluded the presentation by reading a letter to former Laboratory Director John Browne. It said in part: "Your resignation was sad because not only were you a director of high caliber in scientific capability, but also a very people- and community-conscious person.
"Please remember John, that I have many fond and positive memories about the work we did with you in furthering the Laboratory's relations with its American Indian neighbors and tribal governments," Suazo wrote. "I believe the tribal governments and the Laboratory made important strides during your directorship, building on the foundation laid by former Director Sig Hecker and past pueblo governors."
Other American Indian Heritage Month events at the Lab include a talk on April 23 by Conroy Chino, secretary of the New Mexico Department of Labor. Chino will talk about the role of the Lab in New Mexico over the years and its impact on the local communities. The talk is at 10:30 a.m. in the Student Lecture Hall at University of New Mexico, Los Alamos.
Chino, a longtime local television news investigative reporter and anchor, in January was named cabinet secretary of the state Labor Department by Gov. Bill Richardson. He is the highest-ranking Native American in Richardson's administration.
Chino, of Acoma Pueblo, now lives in Albuquerque with his wife and three sons. He has a bachelor's degree in English with a specialty in early 20th century American literature.
And a second panel discussion on April 29 will explore the Laboratory-tribal relationship and how it has evolved over the Lab's 60-year history. This panel discussion is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., also at the Canyon School Complex. Panelists will include tribal leaders and tribal outreach liaisons and educational ambassadors.
For more information, contact Denise Thronas of 238 Pu Science and Engineering (NMT-9) at 7-2989.