Indigenous-Led Fire Stewardship and the Revitalization of Landscape Scale Pyrodiversity

About this seminar

Each year, huge sums of public money are spent suppressing wildfires, while little is invested in reducing wildfire risk through prescribed fire, forest thinning, and supporting Indigenous fire stewardship. Given the vulnerability of Indigenous peoples to the impacts of wildfire and the consequences of uncontrolled wildfire on Indigenous lands, it is more important now than ever to have Indigenous experiences and voices leading conservation strategies that are both effective and socially just. In this presentation, we identify barriers to engaging in fire stewardship in Canada and discuss how to build capacity to revitalize Indigenous fire knowledge together with wildfire science in Canada in complimentary and respectful ways. Reducing economic, social, and cultural barriers is critical to engaging in successful wildfire mitigation strategies and creating a more informed understanding of the realities of a century of wildfire suppression.

About the presenter

Dr. Kira Hoffman is a jointly appointed postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia and the Bulkley Valley Research Centre. She is a certified fire ecologist and former wildland firefighter. Hoffman’s research focuses on how humans have used fire for millennia to manage and enhance their natural surroundings. Her research assesses how present-day forests have been shaped by stewardship techniques such as burning and how ongoing fire suppression has eroded the resiliency of fire-adapted landscapes.