Interviewer(s): Emily Bernier; Ari Anand. Bourg, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I found Mr. Howard Dion through sheer determination. I received the name of his brother Nile from Ms. Corine Paulk. She knows them from United Houma Nation as well as from the community center down in Dulac. Once I reached Nile Dion, he informed me that he was not the one to be talking to and that I could talk to his brother, Clyde. I tried to reach Clyde several times with no luck. Nile called me back and informed me that his brother Howard had recently retired from Unocal. Howard was very willing to answer any questions Ari or I could throw at him. He made us lunch and insisted that we eat. Howard is a Houma Indian and has been actively involved with the Dulac Community Center as well as in fighting for land rights near his home in Bourg.

Howard Dion is from southern Louisiana and left school to work for American Machine Foundation in 1963. He then went to work as a mechanic at Delta Iron Works. In 1967, he was hired at Unocal, the first Native American to work for the company. He remained with Unocal for 31 years, working on rigs, in gas fields, and as a construction foreman putting up facilities for new wells.