First Nations Facing Wildfires

Written by Jocelyn Paul

Image credit to James Quigg

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/12/native-knowledge-used-to-combat-calif-drought.html

We are just starting out wildfire season for California. A new study published in the Proceeding of National Academy of Sciences analyzed the historical relationship between wet winters and California’s extreme wildfires. The study analyzed the past 400 years; from 1600 to 1903 the two rarely overlapped. During this time, the study found, that lots of rain between December and February meant that California had a rather low-key wildfire season. However, after 1903 that relationship starts to dwindle, and by 1977 its all but gone. Researchers are now starting to point the finger at the federal fire suppression policies and the removal of Native Americans from their lands (Funes). And while California is preparing the massive amounts of potential danger, Native communities are looking to how they can protect themselves.

                Native tribes used to practice subsistence burning. This practice is a controlled burning of vegetation, usually to clear land for agriculture. This reduced the amount of fuel wildfires could consume and thus decreasing their power (Placeholder3). Dr Kevin Regan a form Forest Service researcher states, “Anthropogenic fire shaped North America millennia, so that many eco systems are dependent on periodic fire” (Barsouk). But a 1911 federal legislation banned all of that, making it illegal to ignite fires on public forest lands. The Karuk, Yurak, and Hupa all practice subsistence burning (Hasan).

California has 106 tribal nations within the states borders, and more than 20 percent of Native people in areas highly prone to wildfires (this also creates an issue with insurers because they often refuse to cover these areas) but the tribal nations do not receive any of the 1.4 billion dollars that California has in their emergency assistance budget. Lisa Hillman member of the Karuk’s Department of Natural Resources stated to High Country News, “You can’t expect that someone is going to take care of  you here, you’ve got to do it yourself.” (Sault) The Tribe is located near the Klamath river, where the Happy Camp Complex Fire wreaked havoc in 2014 burning more than 132,000 acres and destroyed eight buildings and residences. With no access to the State’s emergency assistance Tribes must compete with each other for grants. However, this process is tedious as the application process takes months, award selection is competitive, and renewal is unpredictable. Getting grants is further complicated by the fact that grants from the Bureau of Indian Affairs are allocated based in proportion to the tribe’s land base. And as of right now, half of the 106 tribes in California have less than 100 acres, 30 have a land base of less than 10, and 81 tribes are still seeking Federal recognition! (Sault)

                Many tribes do not have their own fire department and those that do usually do not have the manpower to adequately prepare for these natural disasters. Cal Fire and Forest Servie use prespribed burning to aid in wildfire prevention, but that 1911 federal law prevents the Karuk tribe and others from participating in their own traditions (Hasan) . So our government has essentially removed people from their native lands, and restricted their ability to control what little land they still hold all the while using their tribal traditions to protect land that the tribes do not live on.

                The tibes have been pretty much left to fend for themselves. They much scrounge for grant money and expend their resources even further to negotiate agreements with all the agencies that have jurisdictional power over their land to practice subsistence burning. And when these processes don’t work they end up burning under cover of night (Sault). Even if the fires are beneficial the tribe could still be held liable for starting it and thus face consequences. However, there is some hope that laws are changing. The Forest Service is signed a new policy on July 27, 2018 that would help manage public forest lands. This policy would make Karuk burning traditions a vital part of fire prevention. The first project plans to burn more than 5,000 acres near Somes Bar, CA. It also puts The Karuk tribe, state and federal agencies and other NGOs working together for the next 10 years (Hasan). Now that laws are finally changing programs are opening op to teach the Karuk youth who in turn train their parents to fill in generation gaps were these traditions were lost. Now hopefully this marks a turning point in history, one that finally allows tribes more agency over their lands and the protection they need.

 

 

Works cited

Barsouk, Adam. “Native Americans Reveal Their Secrets To Preventing Forest Fires And More.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 18 Nov. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/adambarsouk/2018/11/18/native-americans-may-know-secret-to-preventing-forest-fires-and-more/#2d62bcc27788.

Funes, Yessenia. “Wet Winters No Longer Protect California From Brutal Wildfire Seasons, Study Finds.” Earther, Earther, 5 Mar. 2019, earther.gizmodo.com/wet-winters-no-longer-protect-california-from-brutal-wi-1833073406.

Hasan, Mejs. “Native Tribes Are Taking Fire Control Into Their Own Hands.” Wired, Conde Nast, 13 Aug. 2018, www.wired.com/story/wildfires-native-tribes-controlled-burns/.

Sault, Laurence Du. “The Karuk Tribe Fights a Growing Wildfire Threat and a Lack of Funding.” The Karuk Tribe Fights a Growing Wildfire Threat and a Lack of Funding -, 12 Mar. 2019, www.hcn.org/articles/tribal-affairs-in-california-the-karuk-tribe-fights-a-growing-wildfire-threat-and-a-lack-of-funding.