ADA, Okla. - Chickasaw Nation Lt. Governor Chris Anoatubby recently welcomed Federal Emergency Management Agency officials to the tribe’s emergency management facility in Ada to highlight its readiness to address a wide variety of disasters, should they arise.
Former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Tribal Affairs Advocate Kelbie Kennedy said she is a proud citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, born and raised in Buffalo Valley, Oklahoma.
“Kelbie and her staff wanted to come down and see the different aspects of our new emergency operations facility,” Lt. Governor Anoatubby said.
He said a recent renovation repurposed a portion of the building into a command post for disaster preparations.
“It has evolved over the years from a retail outlet back in the ‘80s. We’ve turned it into a hub for emergency management operations,” Lt. Governor Anoatubby said.
Chickasaw Nation Emergency Operations Facility is located at the corner of Kerr Lab and Cradduck roads in what longtime residents remember as the former site of a K-Mart department store. The tribe purchased the property and converted it into a center for COVID-19 vaccinations, not just to First Americans, but to anyone wanting to be immunized during the pandemic.
“Our first use was during the pandemic with vaccinations and then we also used it for other purposes,” Lt. Governor Anoatubby said. “It’s a large facility in which we have other functions as well. But it’s the main hub now for our emergency operations management.”
For more than two years, Kennedy served as a political appointee in the Biden administration, serving as the first to represent all tribes across the country to FEMA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Kennedy said the Chickasaw Nation was one of the first tribal nations she visited upon assuming the position in October 2022.
“I wanted to see if the Chickasaw Nation would be open for a follow-up tour of this wonderful emergency operation facility,” Kennedy said. “I wanted to have the opportunity to talk to the team here and its leadership and do what I’ve been doing for the last 2½ years, which is to get on the ground with tribal nations in Indian Country and learn and hear from them about their challenges within FEMA.”
Chickasaw Nation Emergency Management Executive Officer Steve Cash says a large room in the facility’s center serves as a training arena during what he calls “blue-sky” days, those in which no apparent disaster looms.
“We have interdepartment training here in what we refer to as our ‘war room,’” Cash said.
“What we do is build a standardized template for continuity across the Chickasaw Nation to ensure, in an emergency situation, services are back up in a reasonable amount of time,” he said.
"We want decision-makers in the room when we have something major going on in an emergency.”
To that end, a large screen in the “war room” allows departmental leaders a live-feed view of the affected areas via drone and collaborate on the best ways to address the situation.
Recent fires in California wreaking havoc are a sober reminder of similar potential threats within the 13-county Chickasaw Nation tribal boundaries.
“Oklahoma is susceptible to fires,” Cash said. “Governor Anoatubby has given this department the authority to issue burn bans due to the possibility for fire danger in Oklahoma.”
He said volatile weather in the form of tornadoes, ice storms and flooding have also shown their potential for interruption of basic services and great harm to area residents.
Chickasaw Emergency Management was an active participant during last year’s spring tornadoes that devastated some communities in southeast Oklahoma.
Another concern is chemicals carried by trains through the area which could be subject to derailment.
Chickasaw Nation Northern Region Emergency Manager Brandon Burchfield, responsible for Jefferson, Stephens, Grady and McClain counties, pointed out some of the equipment available in responding to emergencies.
They include light towers designed to illuminate open fields in which no power source is available to assist during searches.
Cellphone boosters provide first responders with communication in remote areas in which service is spotty or nonexistent.
Large tanks known as “water buffaloes” allow fresh, safe, potable water to communities that temporarily lose their own water supply.
Side-by-side vehicles are used for search and rescue events. Cooling fans and large deployment tents, such as those employed in the aftermath of Sulphur’s April tornado last year, can be set up in 20 minutes, Burchfield said.
Burchfield said generators, a fully equipped drone truck, chain saws for debris removal, a mobile command post and more are all used when “all-hands-on-deck” emergency situations arise.
Kennedy said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby has always been a supporter of FEMA’s mission, not just for First Americans, but all community members.
“Governor Anoatubby has been absolutely stellar in, and a steadfast leader for, the Chickasaw Nation. He has worked hand in hand with FEMA in so many ways to make sure everybody within the Nation’s jurisdiction is able to get help when they need it.
“Governor Anoatubby has been such a keystone leader, not only helping his own people but helping Oklahomans overall,” she said.