during the 1800’s, and the more recent federal fire suppression policy since 1930, much of our fire culture has been lost. It has been from our languages and stories that remind us of our relationship with fire. Evergreen: In one of your recent essays, you described a video produced by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes [CSKT] that explains the role prescribed fire plays in incorporating Traditional Eco- logical Knowledge in CSKT’s fire adapted forestry program. What’s the message in your video and where can people find it? Durglo: The main message of the short video is articulating what we say in the Forest Management Plan, approved in the year 2000. The CSKT Forest Manage- ment Plan acknowledges that fire, both human, lit and natural occurring, played a primary role in shaping our forest landscape here in the Northern Rocky Mountains. The video also conveys the message that we still live in a cultural landscape- one that was shaped by our ancestor’s stewardship for their use and benefit and one that we can continue to learn from. The 2000 Forest Management Plan was very divergent from previous plans that were written by BIA leadership. This new plan outlined Goals to strengthen tribal sovereignty and self-sufficiency through good forest stewardship, man- age our forest to include natural pro- cesses and to balance cultural, spiritual, economic, social, and environmental values. Fortunately, in 2000, we still had several tribal elders that helped guide the Forestry and Fire programs through implementation. Evergreen: Where might people find your video and what’s its title? Durglo: Returning Fire to the Land is available on YouTube. Evergreen: The Nature Conservancy has become a champion of Indigenous burning. How did this happen and can you cite some examples of your coopera- tive efforts? Durglo: By providing a supportive framework called the Indian Peoples Burning Network. IPBN is elevating tribal contributions in this shared journey. It has grown from a single landscape in 2015—in the combined ancestral territo- ries of the Yurok, Hoopa and Karuk Tribes of Northern California—to include people from Pueblos in New Mexico, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota, the Klamath Tribes in Oregon and the
diversity helps build strong, resilient networks. Evergreen: Where does the rubber meet the road with CKST? Durglo: Mary Huffman, the IPBN Pro- gram Director has been very engaged in coordinating ITC Symposium Workshop participants. It is my experience that she prefers that their respective work be initiated by tribal partners. The shared work that CSKT Division of Fire and members of the Montana TNC staff has been a result of the successful working relationship built over the last 15+ years. Steve Kloetzel, the Western Montana Land Steward, who now leads much of the forest restoration work for Montana TNC worked with the CSKT Elders Advi- sory Committee when TNC first acquired a large parcel of property adjacent to the reservation. Evergreen: CSKT – and I presume you - played a prominent role in develop- ment of the collaboratively developed Montana Forest Action Plan – again emphasizing the role of Indigenous fire in minimized the risks associated with the killing wildfires we are seeing on federal lands in the West. From reading another of your essays, it seems to me that Indigenous fire is part of a larger ho- listic light-on-the-land approach tribes have embraced for eons. Is this correct and how does it play out in the Montana Forest Action Plan? Durglo: I think that the development of the Montana Forest Action Plan (MFAP) is unique, in the sense that Tribes in Montana were initially invited to the planning table very early in the process. Sonya Germann, the State Forester at the time was very intentional and deliberate in the invite and made it a point to include the tribal voice throughout the planning process. I was the one fortunate enough to be invited and have been a part of the plan writing process and now part of a group responsible for implementa- tion. The Tribes were also given room in the Assessment of Forest Conditions of the MFAP to describe the indigenous relationships with the Montana forest landscapes. CSKT has employed a tre- mendous ethnohistorian by the by the name of Thompson Smith that really did the heavy lift with writing that section. Evergreen: Let’s go back to your Fire on the Land video for a moment. What’s the take home message and is there anyone people could call to learn more? Evergreen 19
Much of our Fire culture has been lost. It has been from our language and stories that remind us of our relationship with fire. Jim Durglo, Intertribal
Timber Council Wildland Fire Technical Specialist
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe in Texas. Activities include strategic planning for revitalization of fire culture, fire training including both federal qualifications and culturally based controlled burning and promoting intergenerational learning. Evergreen: What exactly is IPBN? Durglo: IPBN is part of the PERFACT cooperative agreement. PERFACT stands for Promoting Ecosystem Resiliency and Fire Adapted Communities Together. It is led by staff from The Nature Conservan- cy’s North America Fire Initiative. They work closely with staff from the Water- shed Research and Training Center (who facilitate the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network and other strategies) and from University of California Cooper- ative Extension, the Conservancy’s Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team, and the USDA Forest Service. Partners in PERFACT landscape and community efforts span a full range of affiliations, from federal, state, local and tribal agencies; businesses; non-profit organizations and universities to private landowners and engaged residents. Interests are equally varied, and this
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