The 82nd annual Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) conference was held in Banff earlier this month. The event brought together government officials, industry leaders, and Indigenous communities together to discuss challenges facing the Alberta forestry industry.[1] Given the record-breaking wildfires over the past few years, the event emphasized the issue of wildfire management.
Notably, speakers at the event spoke about “the impact of historical fire suppression policies… acknowledg[ing] the impact of colonial practices on Indigenous fire management.”[2] Speakers expressed that “to ensure social and ecological systems thrive in fire-prone environments,” emphasis must be placed on “Indigenous knowledge and traditional practices.”[3]
Colonial Policies and Indigenous Practices
While climate change has exacerbated wildfires globally, it isn’t the only factor contributing to the increase and severity of wildfires in Canada. Colonial fire exclusion policies, as well as policies directed at the cessation of Indigenous practices (such as the Indian Act), have “disrupted ecological processes, elevating risk of wildfire, insects, and disease, affecting the health” of the forests and the land.[4]
For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples in North America practiced controlled burning as part of the “management of resources in complex forest, mountain, and dryland ecosystems.”[5] The practice of periodic intentional landscape burning was done for many reasons: manage regeneration, manage pests, rejuvenate the quality and quantity of forage, stimulate the growth of berry patches and medicinal plants, to manage the buildup of combustible materials, and more.[6]
In stark contrast, the European approach to fire in North America was to “clear vast tracts of forest land for agricultural use, to remove overburden to expose rock for geological surveys, and to maintain clearway along railway tracks, frequently with little regard for the prevailing weather.”[7] Where fire was not being used for agricultural or industrial purposes, blanket fire suppression or exclusion policies were set in place. These policies disallowed deliberate burning practices and instilled the convention of putting out fires as soon as they are started.[8]
Over time, European fire policies “led to a buildup of highly flammable dead trees and brush on the forest floor… leading to larger, hotter fires.”[9]
Traditional Knowledge vs Scientific Ecological Knowledge
Traditional knowledge is “a body of culturally transmitted knowledge and beliefs about relationships of living beings… with one another and with their environment.”[10] This understanding of relationships and connectedness has allowed Indigenous peoples to develop a relationship with the elemental fire that has an interconnected ecological, social, and spiritual importance.[11] Thus, enabling the use of fire in a holistic manner to care for the land and all life living on the land.
Colonial approaches to fire are inherently conflicting with Indigenous Traditional Knowledge. Western European ideologies employ a scientific ecological knowledge system that is based on a “conceptual separation of humans from the environmental world,” where “people are apart and above the environment.”[12] The focus of Colonial views of the environment has been to control, manipulation, and procure economic gain.[13]
Despite the growing recognition that traditional Indigenous fire management practices “successfully controlled wildfires by regularly setting smaller fires to reduce the buildup of fuel,” the colonial state has been slow to accept these practices as legitimate solutions – let alone implement the practice – even in the face of such dire circumstances.[14] It’s time for change - awareness and acknowledgment are not enough - it's time to for policy-makers and industry leaders to implement time-tested Indigenous practices into modern wildfire management strategies.
[15]
ekosi.
The ReconciliACTION Team
Citations
[1] Jennifer Ellson, “Resilience and Renewal at AFPA’s 82nd annual conference” (16 October 2024) Canadian Forest Industries, online: <https://www.woodbusiness.ca/resilience-and-renewal-at-afpas-82nd-annual-conference/>.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Larry Mason, et al.. Listening and Learning from Traditional Knowledge and Western Science: A Dialogue on Contemporary Challenges of Forest Health and Wildfires, (2012) 110:4 Journal of Forestry 187 at 187.
[5] World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), Our Common Future (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1987) at 19, online (pdf): <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf>.
[6] Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. “Indigenous Fire Management and Traditional Knowledge” (21 April 2019) online (blog): <https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/indigenous-fire-management-and-traditional-knowledge>. See also Supra note 4 at 189.
[7] Ibid.
[8] David Schechter, “A century of fire suppression is worsening wildfires and hurting forests” (13 July 2023) CBS News, online: <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fires-destroy-forests/>.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Supra note 4 at 187.
[11] University of Royal Holloway London, “Indigenous Knowledge could hold key to management of wildfire risk” (23 March 2016) online: <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160523104923.htm>.
[12] Supra note 4 at 188.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Supra note 8.
[15] The Oregon Historical Society, “The Past, Present, and Future of Indigenous Fire Knowledge” online: <https://www.ohs.org/events/past-present-and-future-of-indigenous-fire-knowledge.cfm>.
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