Educational Media Reviews Online

For more than 30 years, the all-woman Apache 8 wildland firefighting crew has battled blazes on the Fort Apache reservation, throughout Arizona, and across the nation. Although the crew went co-ed in 2005, it has maintained its identity as a unique group of firefighters led by strong, hard-working women from the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Apache 8 documents the crew’s history and introduces us to four women who embody the Apache 8 work ethic. Filmmaker Sande Zeig interweaves stories that highlight the complexities of being female in a historically male profession. Firefighter-turned-social worker Katy Aday explains what it was like to be the primary source of family income while working a job that regularly took her away from the children she was trying to raise. Crew chief Cheryl Bones addresses issues of leadership, family, and professional pride, while Nita Quintero and Ericka Hinton talk about community, gender issues, and the economic and social realities of living on the reservation. The film is well edited and includes footage of national news coverage of the Apache 8 crew. Suitable for both public and academic libraries, the film would be of particular interest to institutions with firefighting or fire services programs; it would also be useful in gender studies courses.