It’s The American Way Tribes Capitalize On Region’s Celebration Of Independence Day

When it comes to hawking bottle rockets, Roman candles and Big Bear Cannons, Shmoo knows the score.

That’s what the fireworks peddlers operating on Spokane Indian trust land south of Chewelah tell visitors looking for information about the local pyrotechnics business.

“Ask Shmoo,” they say.

Shmoo - and that’s just Shmoo, mind you - is a bear of a man who dispenses opinions as easily as he unloads $6 bottle rockets on Canadian tourists and Spokane scofflaws.

“They’re loud, man, real loud,” Shmoo says of the rockets, not the opinions - although they can be loud, too.

The tribal member lets out a chuckle that causes the chair beneath him to creak. “So, what do you want to know?”

A visitor from Spokane asks why there so many fireworks stands along U.S. Highway 395. Nearly twice as many as last year.

It doesn’t make much sense, the visitor says.

The city and county of Spokane outlawed sale and detonation of fireworks nearly four years ago. It’s also illegal to set off or sell firecrackers and bottle rockets in Canada, Idaho and on Bureau of Land Management lands in Washington.

Some areas allow “safe and sane” sparklers and ground fountains, but those places are drying up in the face of wildfire danger.

The visitor says it seems there should be fewer stands, not more - even on Indian reservations in Washington where fireworks are still allowed.

Shmoo ponders this for a moment, glancing over his shoulder at the three new outfits that popped up near his rickety booth this year. The competitors are pretty green. Shmoo has been selling fireworks with partner Kenny “Biscuit” Peone from the same spot for a decade.

The new stands are run by Native Americans, most of whom are related. Shmoo’s half-brother opened one of them.

It boils down to money, Shmoo says. In the final days before the Fourth of July, it’s not unusual for people to drop $200 on pyrotechnics.

“People see the gravy train coming,” he says. “They see that we’ve made a little profit here every year and they want some, too.”

Cindy Abrahamson agrees. The Spokane Tribe member has sold fireworks for years in Chewelah and Ford, Wash.

“Everybody’s getting greedy, I guess,” Abrahamson says.

There are 10 stands operating on the Spokane Indian reservation this year - twice as many as last year, tribal officials say.

Almost all are operated by Native Americans who pay the tribe a small permit fee to set up.

Many of the vendors pay cash for their inventory and then man their booths 12 hours a day, cajoling people to drop some disposable income in celebration of American independence.

It’s a tough business, Shmoo says, requiring dedication, persistence and a gift for gab.

He and Abrahamson don’t think most of the rookies will be around next year.

“We’ve built our business over 10 years, haven’t we, Kenny?” Shmoo says. “This is a 30-day thing. You can’t just show up.”

Alex and Mark Martinez decided to try their luck this year.

The brothers, both Spokanes, erected a stand in the parking lot of the tribe’s casino and bingo parlor, within a bottle rocket’s flight of Shmoo’s place.

Alex Martinez has sold fireworks on the West Side for several years and decided to team up with his little brother in Chewelah.

They call their booth Bargain Bros and hope to steal some business from their four competitors.

“We’ll give you a deal,” Alex Martinez says. “You have to drive off the highway a little, but our prices are better.”

Abrahamson’s mother, who runs the family stand in Chewelah, said the new operators are hurting an already slow business.

“Any time you get competition, it cuts you down,” says the woman, who wouldn’t give her name. “Some years, we go in the hole. Some years, we make a little money. It’s a gamble.”

Shmoo doesn’t begrudge the newcomers. He’s glad to see fellow tribal members making some extra money.

“It’s this or welfare,” he says. “And this is only once a year.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FOR THE RECORD The city and county of Spokane outlaw the sale and detonation of fireworks. Idaho state law also generally prohibits sale or use of firecrackers and bottle rockets.