Wildfire management has long been the domain of colonial governments. Despite a rich history of living with, managing, and using fire as a tool since time immemorial, Indigenous people were not permitted to practice cultural fire and their knowledge was largely ignored. As a result, total fire suppression became the prominent policy. With the most active force of natural succession abruptly halted, Indigenous communities suffered as the land changed. Today, western society has recognized the ecological problem a lack of fire has created, however, the cultural impact has been largely ignored. Frank Lake has spent a great deal of time contemplating the role of Indigenous people in fire management, and he has some great insight into how we can begin to change fire management for the benefit of all people.
Episode highlight
In this podcast, Frank Lake talks about how fire management should be done in consultation with Indigenous peoples and how it can benefit the land and the community.
Resources
Frank Lake: https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/ff/staff/flake/
Maintaining the Mosaic: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/545a90ede4b026480c02c5c7/t/55256829e4b0788926c03f36/1428514857584/KimmererLake.pdf
Returning Fire to the Land: https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/lake/psw_2017_lake001.pdf
Sponsors
The Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science
Support from:
● California Indian Water Commission
● Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation
Quotes
12.44 - 12.59: “[There is] the myth of the pristine wilderness and that this ecological diversity was just inherently there when really a lot of our forests and our fire-prone ecosystems, where there are Indigenous peoples, are the legacy of that complex Indigenous fire stewardship.”
Takeaways
Frank finding fire (1.19)
Frank has been a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service for 18 years now. His mixed Native American and white background influences and informs his work with Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in California. Prior to this, he worked in fisheries habitats and credits Dr. Robin Kimmerer and the paper they wrote together with his understanding of and interest in fire and its ecological aspects. His work has since involved researching and raising awareness of fire.
Fire-dependent culture (7.22)
Frank has maintained his wildland firefighter qualifications and has been an important liaison between stakeholders in fire management. He combines his cultural knowledge with his academic training to bring a more effective understanding and awareness of benefits, issues and policies and identify the culturally significant resources at risk. He speaks of how subsistence activities, food, basketry and ceremonies are linked with fire.
Indigenous fire sovereignty (12.42)
Frank points out how intentional burning has facilitated and maintained the biodiversity of landscapes. He contemplates how Indigenous peoples can have an equal voice to share Indigenous knowledge as a remedy to the vulnerabilities or stressors of environmental processes and work as partners with the government. He claims the “alignment of intersection between people and place” will occur when fire is acknowledged as medicine for the land.
Consultation in cultural burning (17.53)
Frank highlights the need for cross-sectional work and the emphasis on cultural resources. Fire, as a cultural practice transcends land ownership boundaries, and work must be done in varying degrees to reinstate cultural fire practices to ensure that wildfire is not threatening life and property in the community. Fire management agreements can mandate the consultation and coordination of Indigenous and Tribal peoples in firefighting and controlled burning.
Stakeholder management (21.07)
Frank underscores the importance of Indigenous and Tribal peoples having a direct relationship with the government to provide consultation in partnership, respecting the value of the traditional knowledge being shared. He acknowledges that different stakeholders have different socioeconomic and ethnic interests and it is important to learn how to live with fire and manage resources together.
Fire is medicine (25.29)
Frank deliberates the interpretations of smoke, and how smoke positively impacts water temperatures and therefore culturally important aquatic species. His research has shown how cultural burning reduces evaporation, increases spring flow and rejuvenates materials for habitats. He discusses the intersection of technology and Indigenous knowledge in his work.
Corrective or maintenance fire (32.50)
Frank explains that in the ecosystems where fire has been suppressed, the buildup of fuels along with changing climatic conditions has caused larger and more intense fires. He speaks about corrective fires in Canada and Australia addressing the absence of cultural burning using maps to show the difference Indigenous fire stewardship can make on different landscapes, including promoting fire-adapted drought-tolerant species.
Fire-adapted communities (40.49)
“Having Indigenous people share the importance of fire increases our public’s awareness”, Frank says. This will also help change people’s perspective of burning and fire from an illegal, negative consequence to an essential resource to our economies, livelihoods, culture, community and ecosystem services. He shares that there is a spectrum of people ranging from those who think fire is essential, to those who are concerned with the health effects of smoke.
Consultation, communication, and coordination (48.30)
Frank has been associated with the National Advanced Fire & Resource Institute in Tucson, through which he has been able to impact a wide range of stakeholders, and his local work helps share that knowledge. He discusses the Tribes he works with and the Tribal governments through National Forest Agreements, who appoint a representative to work with the management team in a wildfire.
The agroforestry perspective (55.03)
Frank outlines how active fire management agreements facilitate joint prescribed burns between agencies, organizations and Tribes using the example of oak in California. A legacy of Indigenous fire stewardship protects values around food security, forest functionality, resilience and diversity, along with meeting the needs of the community, including recreation and self-sufficiency of resources.
Curating knowledge (59.03)
Frank believes that he has a responsibility to honour the knowledge that his Elders have gifted him with time and care, which includes thought around bringing fire back onto the landscape. He uses forest thinning on his own property as an example and inspiration to other families to promote cultural burning. He speaks about other avenues to share the wealth of Indigenous knowledge from the Elders to the youth of today.
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