Reclaiming fire: resistance, resurgence and Indigenous jurisdiction in the climate emergency

Abstract

Climate-amplified emergencies are vital sites for Indigenous resistance and resurgence, even as climate change compounds layers of colonial oppression. Drawing on the experiences of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation before, during and after record-breaking wildfires in the Nation’s territory (in British Columbia, Canada), this article describes how the Tŝilhqot’in employ strategies of resistance to presumed state authority and resurgence of their own laws and jurisdiction in response to the climate emergency. These record-breaking wildfires vividly illustrate how colonial laws and policies have converged over a century to produce the climate emergency. And yet, dominant discourses around climate change and emergency reproduce Indigenous erasure, vulnerability and marginalization. Counter to these discourses, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation has advanced sophisticated emergency responses in relation to the state. Moreover, the wildfires have prompted Tŝilhqot’in communities to revitalize deep-seated fire stewardship laws and responsibilities to properly care for the land, wildlife and each other in the face of the accelerating climate crisis. The Tŝilhqot’in Nation’s experiences reclaiming fire show how Indigenous resurgence provides pathways out of the climate crisis while also attending to its colonial roots and decolonizing the responses to it.