Friday, November 28, 2025

Uses of Fire by Native Americans

Direct link to Nov 2013 video from the National Interagency Fire Center


I got interested in how Indigenous Peoples (or Native Americans) used wildfires because of a book by Jordan Thomas, When it All Burns. I am currently reading the second chapter where he spends several pages at the end of the chapter writing about the historic uses of fire by Indigenous Peoples in California and elsewhere to control their land, including but not limited to clearing land for food. I decided that I wanted to find a short video to share with you on this subject and found this video, "Traditional Uses of Fire", by the National Interagency Fire Center. I am not here to suggest that homeowners use prescribed or controlled burning, for example this practice is illegal in many areas of the U.S. without prior approval by state or local authorities. Rather I like the video because they discuss traditional uses for fire by Indigenous Peoples.

No comments: