Tribal and Indigenous Fire Tradition

From US Forest Service

Centuries ago, indigenous people inhabited the land from coast to coast. They knew what scientists confirm today:  Frequent, low intensity fires on the landscape are not just important to reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, but also essential to forest health.

“Fire is part of nature,” said John Waconda, a member of Isleta Pueblo and the Indigenous Partnerships Program Director with The Nature Conservancy. “It’s just like the rain, the sunrise each day. It’s a natural occurrence, a part of nature necessary to complete lifecycles of different plants and animals.”

Like any demographic of people, Tribal beliefs and tradition cannot be generalized across all Tribes. However, there is one common theme that could be considered a foundational difference between beliefs of indigenous peoples and those that came with Europeans during colonialism—a balance between humans and nature.

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