Many Indigenous Peoples put fire on the land to achieve cultural objectives, including increasing the abundance of berries and medicines and reducing dry grasses and diseased trees that fuel wildfire. We call it good fire because it has good effects on the land, and because it is good for communities and cultures. It also helps restore knowledge and increase Indigenous leadership over decision making about our territories.

Yet many misconceptions about cultural fire persist. Here are a few facts that dispel those myths.

Myth:Indigenous knowledge about fire has been lost.

Fact: Indigenous fire knowledge remains strong.

Colonization had a huge impact on Indigenous fire practices. Knowledge wasn’t so much lost as ripped out of our hands through the enactment of many targeted racist policies and legislation. Once these were in place, Indigenous peoples were threatened, fined, or jailed for conducting cultural burns.

Many communities are still constrained today by colonial government restrictions on their ability to burn. Sadly, the same governments that imposed policies severing Indigenous Peoples from their fire knowledge now use that disconnection as a reason to deny them stewardship roles. But the knowledge endures.

Because the knowledge base was so vast, and because Indigenous Peoples still live on and steward their lands, fire knowledge remains high in many communities. Many Nations lead active cultural fire initiatives that restore and sustain lands, fromWe Are Fire in the Saskatchewan River Delta to theSalish Fire Keepers in the interior of British Columbia.

Elders and knowledge holders want to pass on what they know, but they don’t always have opportunities to share with youth and others. Many Nations who experienced a more severe level of cultural severance from their fire knowledge are partnering with Indigenous fire knowledge holders and other Nations to revitalize their knowledge base. Supporting knowledge exchanges and capacity building will ensure more Indigenous Nations and more Canadians benefit from good fire.

Myth: Indigenous knowledge about fire is not applicable today.

Fact: Indigenous fire stewardship helps navigate climate change and restore forest health.

Indigenous Nations are on the frontlines of forest changes. We have been present on our territories for generations, and we witness the shifts in wildfire patterns and forestry management practices. Indigenous knowledge is not static: we observe and adapt—including in the age of climate change.

And we adjust traditional practices to match current conditions. In northern Alberta, for instance, Elders say: “We can’t burn on the land yet. There’s too much fuel. First, we need to do hand or mechanical thinning, then we can put good fire down and continue intervals of burning.”

Indigenous fire knowledge holders have always known cultural burning reduces the risk of out-of-control wildfires, by removing vegetation and promoting healthy, biodiverse, mosaic landscapes. Academic research also shows that cultural burning reduces the risk of high intensity wildfire in many different landscapes. Recognizing that fire knowledge resides within Indigenous Nations will renew the health of forests across the country.

Myth: If an Indigenous Nation can’t remember using fire, they can’t use it now.

Fact: Indigenous Nations have an inherent right to burn on their territories, even if it’s a new practice.

There is no pan-Indigenous approach to culture, just as there is no pan-Indigenous approach to fire. Indigenous Nations have diverse relationships with fire, including their current uses. Some Indigenous Peoples have traditions of burning, but are not actively burning now. Some Nations did not carry out burning or have no ancestral memory of it.

Indigenous knowledge is dynamic. It enables communities to continue to practice our cultures where we live, and it adapts as conditions change—from forest management policies, climate impacts, development patterns, and more.

Indigenous Peoples are always taking on new forms of knowledge based on what we are seeing in the environment. If Nations decide fire would be beneficial to achieving cultural objectives on the land, they have the inherent right to create a new cultural practice around fire and conduct cultural burning. Nations interested in building a cultural fire pathway can work with other Nations that have more experience - this is why cross-cultural exchanges are so important..

Myth: Indigenous fire knowledge must be proven by western science.

Fact: Indigenous knowledge is a form of evidence-based science.

Indigenous knowledge is based on long-term observational study of the land, animals, weather patterns, and human interaction. Our survival depended on, and our cultures are rooted in, knowing our territories intimately. The land is a good teacher, and we listen.

Indigenous Peoples have witnessed fire on the landscape and saw what plants came up afterwards. Over time, we learned how to use fire to our advantage. We observed, put fire down, tested, learned, and repeated—not dissimilar from western scientists.

Government agencies often don’t believe our Elders or knowledge until a western science study has the same findings - duplicating our knowledge often at a very high financial cost. For example, multiple tree ring studies have confirmed that historically, forests across Canada had shorter burn intervals with more low intensity fire–something our Elders and knowledge holders have been saying for decades, showing the importance of cultural fire practices.

Fire ecologists have also found through their own studies that many of their methods miss historic “patch burns” done at “high frequency”–essentially Indigenous cultural fire practices.

A lot of money goes into researching Indigenous fire practices instead of listening to folks already doing it on the land, and supporting them to continue to do their work. Respecting this knowledge will strengthen everyone’s understanding of landscapes and fire.

Myth: Indigenous Peoples only burned small, localized areas around communities.

Fact: Cultural fire has been used throughout traditional territories.

Indigenous Peoples burned close to our communities historically, but we also burned along animal migration routes, seasonal gathering places, berry and plant harvesting areas and other places far from our settlements. The circle for cultural fire was wide.

These far-ranging cultural burning practices were complemented by lightning, which struck in forests that had not yet become fuel-heavy monocultures. When you pair cultural burning and natural fire, you create healthier forests on a landscape level. Indigenous Peoples burned areas that mattered for our culture, and lightning, our relative, took care of the rest.

A recent study by the Karuk Tribe found that most cultural fires were started in places where people were, while lightning fires happened in more remote areas that were less frequently used. Together, these created a wide and varied fire pattern across Karuk territory.

Cultural fire certainly helps make communities more resilient, but recognizing its broad application will help restore larger forest landscapes.

Myth: When agencies do prescribed burns, it’s basically the same as cultural fire.

Fact: Cultural fire and prescribed burns are like apples and oranges, and they are both useful.

Cultural fire is rooted in Indigenous governance, family lineages, and knowledge of territories. You can’t take culture out of cultural fire and expect the same results. That’s why Crown wildfire agencies won’t take the place of Indigenous knowledge holders, but they can work together (listen to the episode of the Good Fire podcast on this).

Both approaches are beneficial, but each one is distinct. Cultural fire focuses on localized knowledge, while agencies are centralized entities based on colonial structures. Cultural fire is linked to community governance, while agencies have a paramilitary approach with strict hierarchies. Indigenous burning teaches us to put fire on the land when and where specific cultural objectives can be achieved, while prescribed burning is often called production burning–as much burning in as little time as possible, including stand-replacing wildfires..

Respecting the role of cultural and prescribed fire will maximize the benefits for us all.

Myth: Indigenous Nations are trying to replace Crown wildfire agencies.

Fact: Indigenous Nations want to partner with agencies.

Nations want to increase Indigenous-led decision making on fire in our territories. Many Nations also want to partner with the wildfire agencies that help protect our communities in high-risk fire scenarios. When Nations have the capacity to manage and respond to fire, they forge effective partnerships with agencies.

Many Indigenous people already work as agency firefighters. Research shows that the vast majority remain in the lower level, sustained action crews, however. One study found that Indigenous agency firefighters working for 30 to 40 years are often still in entry level positions.

Indigenous people can contribute expertise to the broader effort to keep all Canadians safe—whether it’s working within an agency structure or demonstrating how cultural burns reduce the risk of high-intensity fires. Indigenous peoples also bring important cultural knowledge to fire response efforts, knowing where sites of high cultural importance are and what should be prioritized for protection.

Respecting Indigenous-led decision making, generating opportunities for Indigenous firefighters to rise within agency ranks, and investing in Indigenous Fire Guardians who work for their Nations will create conditions for strong partnerships.

As shown, many myths still surround Indigenous cultural fire practices, but by walking together in relationship and respect, we can replace misinformation with understanding and genuine collaboration.

Myths and Facts about Indigenous Cultural Fire