Emergency Management Program

Program Mission Statement

The responsibility of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Emergency Management Program is to respond to emergency incidents, either natural or man-made, that occur within our tribal jurisdiction.  Through planning, preparation, mitigation, action, and follow-up, our top priority is the protection of both life and property in the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal communities, while enhancing the resilience of our tribal members.

Through training and education, our goal is to ensure that not only is our department ready for emergencies, but that our tribal community is also prepared to make decisions and react to any emergency, anywhere, at any time. To further this goal, we focus on the following areas of FEMA’s Emergency Operations Plan:

Philosophy and/or Summation of Program

Mitigation: By analyzing risk, reducing risk, and ensuring against risk, we encourage citizens to take action before an incident occurs to lessen the potential for loss of life or property. Preparation for an emergency before it occurs increases the odds of a favorable outcome when facing any type of disaster or emergency situation.

Preparedness: Preparing before, during, and after an emergency or natural disaster is another method to ensure the safety of you and your family and limit the loss of property. This preparation includes keeping our community centers on standby, tornado sirens in place, stockpiling water and food, keeping automated external defibrillator (AED) machines readily available, and running fire and tornado drills. In addition, a separate Emergency Operations Plan is in place for any type of possible disaster (power outages, wildfire/building fire, active shooter, tornadoes, bomb threat, and personal medical emergencies, etc.).

Response: The Cheyenne and Arapaho Emergency Management team is trained to take action during an emergency to prevent loss of lives as well as further damages to property.  These actions can include (but are not limited to) helping citizens take shelter during a tornado, evacuating a building during a fire, and contacting the proper authority to help resolve any number of potentially violent, man-made emergencies such as an active shooter or bomb threat.

Recovery: As the process of recovery is equal in importance to the response, part of our focus is to take action that will quickly return to a normal, or even safer, environment immediately following an emergency. This actions can include (but are not limited to) seeking funding to cover the costs of lost property, organizing clean-ups of debris caused by high winds, tornadoes, or any type of explosion, and revising current Emergency Operations Plans to include information learned from the current situation.

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