Gov't disregard of Indigenous prescribed, cultural burns 'created this catastrophe': advocates
Share
TORONTO -
Knowledge keepers and fire experts say governments’ disregard of Indigenous prescribed and cultural burns has greatly contributed to the wildfire crisis in British Columbia today.
Potential fuel sources of wildfires could have been burned away if both federal and provincial governments had greatly expanded the millennia-old practice of purposefully burning away entire patches of trees and dry vegetation, fire researchers and First Nations leaders told CTVNews.ca.
Without these gaps in the forestry, wildfires have moved “like a conveyor belt” through the province, said Brenden Mercer, forest field management liaison for the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society of British Columbia (FNESS) – a group which, among other duties, assists First Nations communities perform cultural burns.
“In my opinion, prescribed burning can help alleviate a lot of this stuff because, since time immemorial, First Nations have been burning like this,” said the former firefighter with ancestry from Little Grand Rapids First Nation in Manitoba.
These controlled, low-intensity burns can be either burns specifically designed to remove sources of fire fuel loads, or cultural burns which are sacred Indigenous practices performed for a host of reasons including ecological stewardship, rejigging the soil for new vegetation, or creating new grazing paths for animals.
While fire experts’ research have confirmed the long-term benefits to Indigenous burnings, Mercer said the legacy of colonialism prevents more of the burnings from taking place.
“Things like the Brush Fire Act put into place in the [1870s] said basically that First Nations couldn't apply fire to the landscape anymore,” he said.
Laws like the Brush Fire Act -- first enacted in B.C. in 1874 and followed suit by other provinces in the early 1900s -- purported to prevent wildfires sparked by locomotives. But historians said they effectively banned ceremonies, like burnings, and sought to assimilate Indigenous Peoples.
Natural Resources Canada for example, acknowledges prescribed fires’ ability to reduce the number of wildfires. And following the wildfires in B.C. four years ago, a government report released in 2018 by former B.C. cabinet minister George Abbott and Chief Maureen Chapman urged B.C. to work with First Nations communities to “increase the use of traditional and prescribed burning."
In 2019, members of the Shackan Indian Band in B.C. partnered with the FNESS to perform a cultural burn with the assistance of the B.C. Wildfire Service. But band leaders like Chief Arnold Lampreau said efforts like this are “not nearly enough.”
He said in the past decade, he and his cousin have been told by government workers to put out cultural burns on their land several times.
“The threat has kind of dampened his willingness to go out there and burn,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview, noting this feeling is, unfortunately, the case for many.
Even in the past few days, he’s grown angry as advice he’s given to government forestry workers “have gone unheard.”
“Colonialism and disregard of our knowledge have now created this catastrophe.”
GOV'T: WE SUPPORT RETURN OF CULTURAL BURNS
The same year that 2018 government report was released, University of British Columbia fire ecologists found released a report that impediments to progress to better wildfire prevention included a lack of sustained funding from provincial and federal governments, high costs and complex paperwork.
Mercer agreed and said more funding must go towards Indigenous fire keeper and guardian programs.
In a statement issued to CTVNews.ca on Monday, a B.C. government spokesperson said the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, “recognizes the importance of working with Indigenous partners to bring cultural fire back to the landscape.”
“We currently support traditional and cultural burning and have assisted many First Nations across the province in this practice," read the statement.
The spokesperson said their several draft action plans, including the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, show the government’s commitment. They also pointed to funds for various parties, including First Nations, which can be used to “complete wildfire risk reduction activities” on private land.
The government stated that before any burn is approved, factors such as vegetation type, terrain, humidity, or wind conditions must all be considered, and that to reduce smoke, all prescribed burns must also comply with the Environmental Management Act and the Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation.
'REAL DEVALUATION OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE'
But fire research scientist Amy Cardinal Christianson said the approval process can be too rigorous and takes too long. A government-affiliated website states prescribed burns can take many months or even years to plan.
She adds that far too few Indigenous leaders are brought to the table during non-crisis times, which could help undo decades of colonialism and result in more controlled burnings.
“There was a real devaluation of Indigenous knowledge,” said Cardinal Christianson, a Métis researcher from Treaty 8 territory, who urged government or non-Indigenous communities to reassess their long held beliefs that controlled burning is harmful.
Today, Indigenous Peoples can have cultural burns on reserves and on title lands without provincial approvals. But she pointed out that for smaller reserves, challenges arise when they don’t have jurisdiction to burn surrounding lands, even though it’s on their territories.
Members of the Yukon First Nations Wildfire performing landscape fire management. (Yukon First Nations Wildfire)
Members of the Yukon First Nations Wildfire performing landscape fire management. (Yukon First Nations Wildfire)
Further complicating the issue is the fact that wildfire agencies ask people to report in any signs of smoke they see.
When the smoke is from band members performing cultural burns, first responders can either let the burn continue or offer to help. But Cardinal Christianson notes sometimes they’ll demand members extinguish it and this can create conflict when communities feel they shouldn’t have to report what they’re doing on their territory.
Cardinal Christianson reaffirmed First Nations communities know their land the best: they know the best times to burn, which areas have too much fuel load; and how to use the terrain to their benefit.
The Bridge River Indian Band in B.C., for example, controls fires by burning along the receding snowline on a mountain in the spring, she said. They’ll also burn logs along the riverbank to keep waterways open for fishes; and use the smoke to cool down the valley which can help fish farming.
Cardinal Christianson stresses that “Indigenous knowledge is really highly adaptable” and Indigenous leaders are very cognizant to changes in the landscape. But they need to be actual equal partners with the government.
MORE FIRES IN SPRING, FALL NEEDED: FIRE KEEPER
Interior Salish Fire Keeper member Joe Gilchrist agreed, saying there’s “too much bureaucratic red tape.”
Even if complete 180 degree change happened today, people wouldn’t see a reduction to number of wildfires until controlled burns were the norm over many years, the Nlaka'pamux and Secwepemc traditional burning knowledge keeper said.
“Fire keepers say fire is good and it has to be used to bring back the health and the balance to the forest,” Gilchrist said, explaining prescribed or cultural burns are most safely done during the spring or fall when the ground is moist.
But if this isn’t done, Gilchrist said when a wildfire comes along, there’s not much that can do besides simply try and put it out.
He said higher fuel loads and harsher wildfires are the direct result of more a century of “Indigenous knowledge being snuffed out.”
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A cruise ship worker from South Africa was arrested Tuesday in Alaska's capital city, accused of attacking a woman and two security guards with scissors on board the vessel off Vancouver Island, according to authorities.
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
The mayor of a major city in southern Brazil on Tuesday pleaded with residents to comply with his water rationing decree, given that some four-fifths of the population is without running water, a week after major flooding that has left at least 90 people dead and more than 130 others missing.
The federal judge in Florida presiding over the classified documents prosecution of former U.S. president Donald Trump has cancelled the May 20 trial date, postponing it indefinitely.
The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday.
An appeals court on Wednesday granted the Hong Kong government's request to ban a popular protest song, overturning an earlier ruling and deepening concerns over the erosion of freedoms in the once-freewheeling global financial hub.
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
An immigration lawyer in Toronto says new figures from the federal government show just how 'grudging' Ottawa's efforts have been to rescue Canadians' family members from the war in the Gaza Strip.
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
European countries have reported a surge in whooping cough cases in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, with 10 times as many identified as in each of the previous two years.
Apple is hoping its latest iPad lineup will breathe new life into its sluggish tablet market. In a pre-recorded live streamed event from its Cupertino, California headquarters, the company introduced the latest versions of its iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets, and an all-new Apple Pencil Pro.
Looking for a new little friend to curl up in your lap and purr contentedly? Before you head to the shelter, take heed – not all cat breeds are in it for the long haul.
Scientists studying the sperm whales that live around the Caribbean island of Dominica have described for the first time the basic elements of how they might be talking to each other, in an effort that could one day help better protect them.
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
Nine of the 10 wrongful death lawsuits filed after deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld festival have been settled, including one that was set to go to trial this week, an attorney said Wednesday.
Air Canada ranks below most other major North American airlines on customer satisfaction, with airfares a particular sore point, according to a new survey.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
The federal Liberals are trying to crack down on a scourge of auto thefts across the country, even as the government is struggling to keep its own vehicles away from thieves, new data show.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
The head of London Drugs is apologizing to customers after all the retailer's stores in Western Canada were shuttered last month by a cybersecurity breach that remains under investigation.
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Organizers of a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at the University of Toronto say the university is ignoring their demands and instead focusing on the logistics of the demonstration.
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
Oxford Stop returns to Calgary this summer featuring headliners George Thorogood and the Destroyers, and this year the show will be in a different location.
The Ottawa Police Service has laid charges against an Ottawa man, including for attempted murder, in connection with an alleged arson of an Overbrook apartment building last week.
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
The flag of Israel will fly at Ottawa City Hall on May 14 to mark the country's Independence Day, but the City of Ottawa says it will not hold the customary flag-raising ceremony due to concerns about public safety.
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
Canadian Utilities Ltd., a subsidiary of Calgary-based holding company ATCO Ltd., says it plans to build a new natural gas pipeline in Alberta to supply a massive net-zero petrochemical project being built northeast of Edmonton.
Teachers in New Brunswick will soon have the ability to oversee cellphone use in their classrooms and limit their use to teaching or medical purposes only.
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
Voting is open for Saskatchewan teachers Wednesday and Thursday as they decide whether or not to accept a contract offer from the provincial government, dubbed their 'final offer.'
The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) has released more details surrounding a woman's death that occurred following an interaction with Swift Current RCMP over the weekend.
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 people have been arrested and a combined 348 charges have been laid in connection with a series of child exploitation investigations that spanned across the province.
They call it sudden death overtime for a reason, and game seven of the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) east final between the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors delivered just that.
A Saskatchewan care home where an elderly man was allegedly attacked is suspended from taking on hospital patients following a recent inspection of the facility.
A province-wide child sexual abuse investigation by Ontario Provincial Police dubbed Project Aquatic has resulted in hundreds of charges, including seven male suspects from northern Ontario.
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
A London police officer was arrested while off duty on Tuesday, in relation to a criminal harassment investigation into repeated communication with a victim over email and phone.
A Wallaceburg woman is charged after police were called for a weapons investigation on Tuesday. Around 3:05 p.m. officers responded to Reaume Avenue in Wallaceburg where they found a woman with "serious puncture injuries."
The head of London Drugs is apologizing to customers after all the retailer's stores in Western Canada were shuttered last month by a cybersecurity breach that remains under investigation.
A cruise ship worker from South Africa was arrested Tuesday in Alaska's capital city, accused of attacking a woman and two security guards with scissors on board the vessel off Vancouver Island, according to authorities.
A man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a shooting in Kamloops Monday evening, the fourth incident police say is part of an ongoing drug conflict playing out on the city's streets.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
A province-wide child sexual abuse investigation by Ontario Provincial Police dubbed Project Aquatic has resulted in hundreds of charges, including seven male suspects from northern Ontario.
The trial of a Newfoundland lawyer accused of sexual assault ended Tuesday with his defence team alleging the complainant lied under oath, while the prosecution said her memory lapses were understandable.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.