Red Cross Mission to a Distant Culture

George Nicholas might have been providing disaster relief for the American Red Cross less than 10 hours from Orange County. But culturally, he was in a far different place than he had ever been before.

The Lake Forest resident was part of a team of 44 Red Cross volunteers who operated a shelter last week for residents of the flooded Havasupai Indian Reservation, located on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

Flood waters wiped out water and sewer lines, forcing about 130 members of the tribe to temporarily relocate about 70 miles away in Peach Springs, the nearest town to the remote reservation.

It took Nicholas, the shelter coordinator, less than a day to find out that the tribe had its own way of doing things.

“We run things on a schedule, they have their own way of dealing with time,” Nicholas said Thursday.

“We had breakfast ready first thing in the morning, and we found out that these folks don’t get around to eating until they’re hungry,” he said.

The next day, the tribe sent around its own cooks, and Red Cross volunteers helped serve the food.

On Wednesday, tribe members returned to their homes in an area of stunning natural beauty, highlighted by a series of waterfalls up to 200 feet high.

Nicholas said he enjoyed his time with the tribe.

“These are very nice people,” he said. “I was glad to help.”