Fire burners to firefighters: The Nez Perce and fire

Abstract

This article presents results from an interview-based case study examining burning practices of the Nez Perce tribe in the Inland Northwest in both their contemporary and historical policy context. Despite the lack of a prominent fire tradition, our interviews uncovered a legacy of knowledge and cultural traditions linked to fire and a variety of contemporary fire practices on the reservation performed by land-management professionals and individual tribal members. Many of these practices, particularly those involving broadcast burning, have diminished over the years. We examine the reasons for this and the potentials for mitigating some of the practical and policy constraints to such burning. We conclude that the nontribal community still has much to learn about fire from those who have lived in fire-adapted landscapes longer than anyone else. © 2010 by the Society of American Foresters.