For some Indigenous peoples, cultural burning is defined as the traditional practice of planned and controlled use of fire on the landscape by Indigenous peoples for cultural and land management purposes. This includes burning for the health of particular plants and animals, as well as using fire for ceremonial purposes.<\/p>prescribedfire.ca<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Cultural objectives may include restoring and enhancing traditional foods or medicinal plants. Cultural burning may also be used to achieve the same land management objectives as prescribed fire, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n George Campbell is a Wildfire Technician with the BC Wildfire Service and was an original member of the Lytton Rattlers firefighting unit crew based out of the traditional territory of the Lytton First Nation of the Nlaka\u2019pamux peoples. He has participated in cultural burning since he was a teenager in Boothroyd, where he is now also a member of the Boothroyd Indian Band council. For him, cultural burning is an important way to enhance the landscape.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are a lot of things that elders pass on when it comes to cultural burning. They don\u2019t look at it as a reduction of fuels but instead it\u2019s enhancing the landscape and natural resources for things like berries and medicines,\u201d says Campbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many Indigenous communities, fire is a sacred and powerful element used in ceremony, community protection, and sustaining diverse plant and animal life. Historically, there were at least 70 different uses<\/a> of fire by First Nations. Some of these included reducing invasive species and promoting ecosystems that support wildlife, food and medicinal plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Campbell participated in cultural burns aimed at increasing habitat for elk, whose numbers were dwindling in that area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe burnt 80 hectares, and it rejuvenated the forest. Grasses grew back, and now the elk population is booming there,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cultural burns do not burn as high or as hot as a large wildfire. In addition, low-intensity fire delivers nutrients to the soil, whereas large wildfires can cause soil to repel water, increasing run-off and erosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cultural burns are also traditionally a social affair. Campbell recalls his whole community of Boothroyd participating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEverybody was involved . . . the elders, chief council, the youth. They were helping however they could,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a learning moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditional firekeepers carry an important cultural role, tending to sacred fire in a manner specific to the religious traditions<\/a> of that culture. That could look like tending to a small wood-burning fire to honour the deceased or conducting controlled burns to clear brush and make way for food plants. Knowledge of how to manage fire was passed down through generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.gov.bc.ca\/app\/uploads\/sites\/786\/2022\/07\/5.1.3.png\")
<\/figure>The importance of fire<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Firekeepers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n