<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/wildfire-mitigation-indigenous-youth-future/>
"Ryan Reed spent much of his childhood outdoors, absorbing the knowledge of his
Karuk, Hupa and Yurok ancestors through activities like hunting and fishing in
the forests of Northern California. As he grew older, he began participating in
cultural burns, an ancient practice also known as prescribed or controlled
burns that involves igniting and tending to small fires as a way to maintain
the health of the forest and prevent larger fires. By necessity, this education
was “discrete,” he said, because for years, these burns were outlawed as part
of a larger suppression of Native practices and rights.
These bans “stripped us of our culture, but [were] also an ecological
disaster,” said Reed. Federal and state agencies adopted fire-suppression
policies that prioritized snuffing out all flames as quickly as possible,
leaving the forests full of brush and kindling that, combined with
climate-related drought and record-breaking heat, fueled the current wildfire
crisis. In the 23 years since Reed was born, California has experienced 15 of
its 20 most destructive wildfires on record.
Reed is now dedicated to restoring humans’ relationship to fire. He’s a
graduate student, Indigenous fire practitioner and wildland firefighter, and
he’s teaming up with other young fire practitioners to change the way the US
responds to the wildfire crisis.
“There needs to be a continuous place for our generation in [responding to] a
crisis that we’re most impacted by,” said Kyle Trefny, a student at the
University of Oregon and seasonal wildland firefighter."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
