Joe became interested in fire in his childhood, noticing how fire kept the house warm, cooked the food and heated the water for bathing. He had observed the Elders speak about fire and use fire for burning grass and hayfields, as well for food and medicine. He began firefighting at age 15 and became a squad boss in 1991 in Merritt. He narrates the travels and training they did, and how his experience firefighting and cultural burning for plant health helped him. He informs that off-reserve, cultural burning is harder to bring back due to the bureaucratic red tape.

Glowing embers (11.55)

Natasha’s father is Algonquin and Irish and her mother is Jamaican. She is the President of Turtle Island Consulting and was part of a specialized team funded by the BC Ministry of Forests to work with First Nations that were dealing with the mountain pine beetle infestation. They looked at culture and community protection from wildfire through an Indigenous lens. There was no prior research on cultural safety of Indigenous wildland firefighters, but she has now worked with Amy to give voice to this topic using her specialization in organizational behaviour and counselling.

Two-eyed seeing approach (18.28)

Joe recalls how all able-bodied people were made to fight fires anytime one broke out. He outlines the wages and structure of the crews involved in firefighting, as well as the demanding schedules of firefighters. Natasha’s work has been to formally capture such anecdotes from a national perspective by inviting dialogue to understand how Indigenous peoples faced barriers to career growth as firefighters yet were made to mentor early professionals. Her team uses both the Indigenous and Western lenses to support Indigenous fire stewardship.

Cultural safety (31.37)

Joe wants to share his experience and lessons learned as a firefighter but has always been a doer more than a talker. Natasha realized that Indigenous peoples not feeling safe to access quality services is not limited to the healthcare sector, but exists in wildland firefighting as well. She states that Indigenous employees want to feel welcomed and safe, and trust their peers to “talk about their cultural practices and protocols or engage in ceremony” without fearing retaliation. She describes the research methodology her team used for this research study.

Systemic racism (41.06)

Joe looks back at the systemic racism he faced as a firefighter and recounts instances when the Indigenous firefighters were tested through difficult tasks and their firefighting style mocked. However, knowing the land, living off it, learning how to start a fire, and building shelters are life skills that he shares with Indigenous peoples across different Nations. Natasha’s research highlights that the role of the supervisor in the crews was the deciding factor in cultural and occupational safety. Employees were less willing to share mental trauma than physical injuries.

The best way to work is to have fun (50.20)

Joe was diagnosed with PTSD in 1994 from his experiences and the exhaustion of always having to be available or on standby as a firefighter. He informs that PTSD can affect anyone, can be hard to fight on one’s own, and warrants professional help, as difficult as it is to ask for. He shares how his boss eventually saw the value of the Indigenous way of working. Natasha points out that Indigenous participants in her research shared the cultural significance of fire and wanted to embrace their traditional ways of knowing, ceremonies and practices to revitalize cultural burning practices.

Wildland firefighting as a career choice (01.05.05)

Joe believes knowledge of the land, its inhabitants, the wind patterns on the land, and the way fire burns through it are important requirements to be a firefighter. Coming straight out of university onto a land one doesn’t know will not set one up for success. He is working with some universities to add an Indigenous perspective to the learning. Sharing stories of firefighting across familial generations and feelings of pride, connection and contribution to safety help make the profession attractive.

Cultural burning needs to come back (1.14.30)

Joe speaks about the gaps in talent planning and succession strategy in firefighting, and Natasha fills in on the opportunities to increase female Indigenous representation in firefighting. Natasha is working with Amy in Saskatchewan to curate promising practices to bring fire back on the land by interviewing Elders and fire-keepers. Joe is inspired to continue making connections with knowledge keepers and Elders and share his knowledge in firefighting with others who can carry forward the torch of cultural burning for future generations.

Send in your comments and feedback to the hosts of this podcast via email: amy.christianson@pc.gc.ca and yourforestpodcast@gmail.com.

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Cultural Safety with Joe Gilchrist and Natasha Caverley

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