Accusations against tribal member leads to fear

CIBECUE, Ariz. -- Travis Duryea has noticed an undercurrent of fear among the White Mountain Apaches since a member of the tribe was accused of starting a huge forest fire.

Accustomed to heading north to the predominantly white Show Low area to shop and work, some tribal members have become reluctant to do so since Leonard Gregg was arrested on federal charges.

"A lot of people are afraid to go up there because they're mad at us just because of this one idiot," said Duryea, a neighbor of Gregg.

Gregg was indicted Tuesday on charges he started one of the two wildfires that combined into one wind-driven blaze that destroyed more than 400 homes and forced more than 25,000 people to flee. Show Low, population about 7,700, was the biggest town evacuated but escaped damage. Gregg was also indicted with starting a second fire on June 18, the same day the Rodeo fire began to burn. That fire was put out. If convicted of both counts, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

The blaze has charred 467,000 acres of pine forest, cutting a wide swath through the economy of the 13,000-member tribe, which relies on its lumber business and tourists who come to gamble and hunt.

Court documents allege Gregg, 29, a part-time firefighter, told an investigator he set the fire so he could get work on a fire crew.

Bad feelings

Some Apaches said they feel non-Indians began turning on the tribe soon after the fire started. The bad feelings have intensified since Gregg's arrest. Instead of going to Show Low, only about 30 miles away, some have started going to Globe, 50 miles southwest, or making the 100-mile trek to Phoenix.

Kathy Beach said she had heard of people telling tribal members "Don't start any more fires." "Why mistreat the whole tribe when it's only one person doing it?" asked Beach. "Why give them our business? That's how I feel, and there's a lot of other people who feel the same way."

Any tension would run counter to what local officials say has been growing cooperation in the area, said John Deaton, a sociology and political science instructor at Northland Pioneer College in Show Low.

Still, he noted that it is common for racial tensions to arise from economic problems.

Show Low Mayor Gene Kelley said he had heard of some isolated incidents of verbal abuse but doesn't know of anyone blaming the whole tribe. Some residents of Show Low and surrounding communities said they bore no grudge against the tribe.

Disparity in treatment

Tribal members are bothered by what they see as disparities in the treatment of Gregg and of a woman who started the second of the two fires. Officials said the woman set the fire, which also began on tribal land, because she was lost and was trying to signal a helicopter.

While Gregg was charged, federal authorities are still investigating the woman's case.