Good Fire Podcast by Amy Cardinal Christianson and Matthew Kristoff
Stories of Indigenous fire stewardship, cultural and social empowerment, and environmental integrity
Early Career Panel
Episode highlight
This episode is a recording of a session at the IAWF Fire & Climate conference in Pasadena CA, featuring early career researchers who are re-kindling cultural burning.
Resources
International Association of Wildland Fire
Deniss Martinez on Indigenous Science and Cultural Fire Practices
Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
Sponsors
The Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science
Support from:
● California Indian Water Commission
● Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation
Quotes
10.24 - 10.38: “As we collectively strive for climate solutions, we proposition that Native peoples, through fire stewardship, provide powerful examples of time-tested climate intelligence and ecological resilience.”
16.25 - 16.29: “Indigenous people don’t need us to speak on their behalf, they can speak on their own behalf.”
36.53 - 37.01: “We need to move from doing research on or for to doing research with and by Indigenous and native communities.”
45.15 - 45.21: “Connection always brings me hope, when I see that there is connection from the past to the present and the present to the future.”
Takeaways
“In a good way” (05.02)
Melinda Adams, San Carlos Apache Tribal member, and PhD candidate at UC Davis, approaches her research in partnership with cultural practitioners, mindful of protecting the culture and requesting permission and consent at every step. Being Apache herself, she recognizes that storytelling is an important way of sharing lessons, and uses it in her research. She shares the story of how agency representatives took a step away from fire suppression in one of the first cultural fire workshops in Cache Creek Conservancy, CA.
The benefits of cultural fire (06.42)
Melinda narrates how the burn was concentrated on restoring tule, an ecologically and culturally important plant. Her research focuses on restoring such plants through cultural fire and restoring degraded soil through monitoring biological and chemical responses post cultural fire. This highlights how cultural fire is important for long-term carbon storage, water holding potential and cultural reunification.
Collaboration, consultation and consent (07.57)
Melinda describes how the burn was conducted - she lit the first fire with a tule torch, it followed a circular pattern, and no fuels were used to stay true to the ancestral way. The Elders were happy with the way the day went and looked forward to the regeneration of tule, which was evident 2 weeks later. She hopes for prescribed burning to take place with Indigenous peoples, to undo the impacts of colonialism and unburden future generations from climate change.
Good relations (11.11)
Carlie Domingues is of Indigenous Mexican heritage and considers it her responsibility to be a good relative to the Indigenous communities in the spaces she lives in. Her work with cultural fire is inspired by her desire to improve water health, so her daughter can swim in their rivers. Fire tending and water care, to her, is a lifestyle.
Fire has always been good (13.30)
Carlie grew up “learning about fire as a time to come together and feed our family”, where they used red oak to eat and celebrate, so she always associates fire as good. She is being trained through the Indigenous cultural burn network and is grateful to her colleagues in her fellowship who try to understand Indigenous ways of knowing. This informs a different style of research, focused on dialogue and conversation with Indigenous peoples, and supporting their voices.
“Fire has a special place in my heart” (17.41)
Deniss Martinez is a Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis and is of Indigenous Mexican heritage. She immigrated to the USA at age five and grew up in fire-prone northern California, which taught her to fear fire. However, learning from local Indigenous communities helped her reconnect with her Indigenous roots and relearn fire. Her research dives into collaborations between agencies and institutions, researchers and tribes.
Getting stuff done (19.54)
William Madrigal Jr., or Will, is associated with Climate Science Alliance, a nonprofit based in San Diego that supports and collaborates with Indigenous tribes in addressing climate change disparities. Since its inception seven years ago, the organization has been working to safeguard natural human communities from climate change along with increasing awareness, promoting solutions and facilitating action with passion.
Facing climate change (22.19)
Nina Fontana is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis in collaboration with the USGS Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. She is exploring current realities and future possibilities of traditional fire stewardship and cultural burning in the face of climate change. One of the outcomes she is forwarding is the adoption of climate adaptation options to craft tribal-specific adaptation plans.
Relationships over acres (26.10)
Deniss observes that there is pressure to work on a lot of acres but she believes it is important to think long term and build the regional adaptive capacity of indigenous communities for real value. When relationships are built and in place, more equitable decision-making takes place during a crisis. Melinda reaffirms that to get more fire on the ground, Indigenous tribes are leading initiatives like modelling and collaborative efforts. She recommends agencies in the field to help with burn plans, understand the cultural objectives of fire practitioners and trust them.
Trust takes time (30.57)
Carlie suggests approaching practices and policies with openness and Nina advises including the community in all aspects of the project from the beginning. She also highlights the importance of the questions being relevant to the community and leaning into the strengths, identities and knowledge systems of communities which takes trust-building and time, something she learned in her Ph.D. Early career researchers should find support for the same.
Researching back to life (35.59)
Melinda notes that Indigenous peoples conducting research helps move their initiatives and collaborations forward. She thinks it is good to engage Indigenous peoples in conversations before beginning research and asking permission at each stage of progression, being mindful of the language being used and focussing on relationship-building. Carlie is excited about young people getting involved in burning and the openness of other researchers to this learning.
“We have to have hope” (40.16)
Melinda laments that the next generations are carrying the burden of “doom and gloom” statistics about climate change. However, as a Native person whose ancestors survived so much, she believes it is her duty to lead with hope. Working in policy can be overwhelming but it is a valuable opportunity to uproot settler colonialism. New ways of being and new sciences created as resilience in the face of climate change inspire others to learn and grow.
“Connection brings me hope” (43.22)
Will wants Climate Science Alliance to lead the work but provides the understanding of the traditional way, so we humans can fulfil our responsibilities to the following seven generations. This gives him hope for a better future where we can collaborate to implement ways to bring fire back to the Indigenous homelands. Nina finds hope in hearing about species coming back to landscapes and cherishes discovering the connection back to the land.
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