1000Pks wrote:

...but I have heard of Native Americans used in high rise construction and other things like that, because of what you say; the lack of fear of heights

Given past times, I'd say that was like using African Americans for loading munitions, a hazardous job without the glory and supposed usefulness, as the local Port Chicago disaster. Just deemed less than equals. A racist view but for racist times.

The Mohawks in NY were paid well for high steel work, and were respected by their peers.

thespiffy wrote:The old link/video was removed due to copyright notification to YouTube.

It can now be found at the following two links;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXuzrIN_x2M&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQv-o5Kgbko

That is just insane! Couldnt pay me enough to do that...

sneakyracer wrote:

thespiffy wrote:The old link/video was removed due to copyright notification to YouTube.

It can now be found at the following two links;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXuzrIN_x2M&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQv-o5Kgbko

That is just insane! Couldnt pay me enough to do that...

If there are two of them in harnesses, why not simulclimb it at least?

1000Pks wrote:

MoapaPk wrote:The Mohawks in NY were paid well for high steel work, and were respected by their peers.

No workman's comp back then, so probably no stats on workplace injury or deaths. High rise work is pretty dangerous, we had a death some years back and it was an issue in the papers for awhile.

The Mohawks from NY and Quebec made up a good fraction of the high steel workers, but most of the workers were not Amerinds; many came from the shipyards. Undoubtedly it was dangerous work for all, as were many jobs back then; e.g. 96 people died in the construction of Hoover Dam. Much of that work was before the common use of antibiotics, so a cut could lead to a fatality. My mother's coworker died from exposure-exacerbated pneumonia while working at a butcher shop kept at 40F. Today, simple antibiotics would save her.

I recall a climbing magazine interview/article about Mark Wilford. He said he worked high steel in Colorado in the winters and said he was the only non Native American worker up there.