The right to burn: barriers and opportunities for Indigenous-led fire stewardship in Canada

Abstract

Indigenous fire stewardship enhances ecosystem diversity, assists with the management of complex resources, and reduces wildfire risk by lessening fuel loads. Although Indigenous Peoples have maintained fire stewardship practices for millennia and continue to be keepers of fire knowledge, significant barriers exist for re-engaging in cultural burning. Indigenous communities in Canada have unique vulnerabilities to large and high-intensity wildfires as they are predominately located in remote, forested regions and lack financial support at federal and provincial levels to mitigate wildfire risk. Therefore, it is critical to uphold Indigenous expertise in leading effective and socially just fire stewardship. In this perspective, we demonstrate the benefits of cultural burning and identify five key barriers to advancing Indigenous fire stewardship in Canada. We also provide calls to action to assist with reducing preconceptions and misinformation and focus on creating space and respect for different knowledges and experiences. Despite growing concerns over wildfire risk and agency-stated intentions to establish Indigenous Peoples as partners in wildfire management, power imbalances still exist. The future and coexistence with fire in Canada needs to be a shared responsibility and led by Indigenous Peoples within their territories.

Centering Indigenous Voices: The Role of Fire in the Boreal Forest of North America

“…Such efforts to revitalize cultural burning have made direct reference to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action and Sect. 34 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [118,126,127].…”

A century of transformation: fire regime transitions from 1919 to 2019 in southeastern British Columbia, Canada

“…Prior to colonization, frequent fire regimes were maintained with low-to moderate-severity surface fires from lightning ignitions and Indigenous cultural burning (Lake and Christianson 2019;Hoffman et al 2022). The traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation spans 70,000 km 2 of southeastern BC and includes parts of Alberta, Montana, Washington, and Idaho, where they have stewarded the land for over 10,000 years (Choquette 1996;Ktunaxa Nation 2022).…”

Western Canada’s new wildfire reality needs a new approach to fire management

“…In 2019, the Province of BC became the first jurisdiction in Canada to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Under UNDRIP, BC has committed to respect traditional cultural expressions, science, and knowledge, thus transforming how fire and forest statues are interpreted (Hoffman et al 2022).…”

“…Critically, wildfires disproportionately affect remote and forested Indigenous communities in Canada and Indigenous peoples are 33% more likely to evacuate from a wildfire (McGee 2021). Many Indigenous communities face significant capacity restrictions and financial barriers to effectively engage in wildfire risk and hazard mitigation (Hoffman et al 2022). We are only beginning to understand the physical health impacts of smoke and other environmental hazards on wildland firefighters, a tremendous cost for their efforts to protect people and communities (Navarro et al 2019).…”

“…Importantly, prescribed burning is distinct from cultural burning, primarily in the burn objectives, techniques used to burn, and who is conducting the burn. Indigenous knowledge is not a 'thing' that can be captured and appropriated into plans by agencies to inform wildfire management (Hoffman et al 2022).…”