First Nations’ wildfire strategies save homes. Why aren't they supported?
Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2025 8:38 pm
As wildfires raged toward their community in 2023, the Little Red River Cree First Nation in northern Alberta broke the rules. They gathered community members, many of whom were uncertified firefighters, to try to save their homes.
“We put out a call and 88 of us showed up, grabbed whatever gear we could find and got into a barge. We smudged, said a prayer and crossed the river.”
It was eerily quiet, and there was an ominous orange glow in the sky. The stench of burning plastic and propane filled the air, recalled Conroy Sewepagaham, chief of the First Nation located near Fox Lake.
The province was officially in charge of firefighting, but local firefighters felt they had to act.
“This is our home. We had to go back to the old ways, as the elder said, and fight these fires,” said Sewepagaham.
They worked through the night for several months, which allowed daytime crews, managed by the provincial firefighting force, to staff the front lines during the day. They saved about 30 to 40 homes. Even with their efforts, the damage was catastrophic. Fire destroyed more than 100 homes and 200 structures in the community.
As the 2025 fire season approaches, the Little Red River Cree and other northern Alberta First Nations are looking at lessons learned from past fires and the challenges ahead. The Little Red River Cree say they’re still faced with limited resources and poor collaboration with the province, and have never been recognized for their homegrown fire management success.
The community submitted a plan for a bigger, improved water plant to lift the boil-water advisories and ensure a water supply to help fight house fires and protect against possible forest fires. For years, the community has been asking for better water pressure systems, extended water lines and fire hydrants, Sewepagaham said.
“It’s the new fire season, and we’re still waiting.”
Indigenous people make up five per cent of Canada’s population but are 42 per cent of those evacuated during wildfires. Fox Lake residents were evacuated again for several weeks last year.
Responsibility is often placed on the communities to prepare for fires and evacuations but there is often no follow through with funding or support, said Amy Cardinal Christianson, a Métis scholar and expert in Indigenous fire stewardship and wildfire management.
“Indigenous people have been removed from decision-making about wildland fires and their territories, even though they're primarily impacted by fire,” she said.
Last year, the nation lobbied for a joint task force between the province and their local government to deal with future fires, but it hasn’t happened yet. They have also pushed for FireSmart programs to reduce fire risks by managing vegetation and preparing homes. But those were deemed too expensive by the governments.
Indigenous communities can’t make decisions about their lands when it comes to fire because they are stuck in a jurisdictional limbo between federal and provincial governments, Christianson said. First Nations communities are under federal jurisdiction while wildland fire and emergency management is under provincial control.
The Little Red River Cree have also been pushing the provincial and federal governments to help them establish their own firefighting division and branch. Currently, they work with other crews but don't have full control.
“We know the woods, we know the landscape and we know the changes in elevation,” Sewepagaham said. “We’ve always had a deep relationship with the land. We used fire as a tool, but we are now seeing how climate change is making these events harder.”
Community firefighters
After the Indian Act was amended in 1981, Indigenous communities gained more autonomy, including the ability to farm and reintroduce traditional practices. This change allowed the nation to develop a wildland firefighting business, called the Wildland Firefighting Inc., which is provincially recognized.
This enabled them to provide their wildland firefighting expertise to the province and assist in wildland firefighting efforts across northern Alberta. Since the 1990s, they have trained two or three wildland firefighters from each household in their community.
But they face challenges integrating provincial firefighting protocols with their traditional knowledge, which the province is reluctant to recognize. This results in delays and inefficiencies, Christianson said.
"It’s never easy to evacuate a community, but they (Little Red River Cree) had learned and taken an approach where they were the ones with answers to help support their community."
In 2024, the local firefighters helped the successful evacuation of their 8,600 residents, using boats and canoes on rivers at night when winds were calm. The province assisted with helicopters equipped with night vision.
Sewepagaham said the community was relieved that everyone got out safely.
"It was a sense of pride to see them doing what we did last year," Sewepagaham said. "That’s because of our traditional firefighting practices."
Firefighter training and certification processes have also become more strict over the years and many community members still are not qualified to participate.
“We only had one window to show up and prove to the province that we were fit and ready to fight fires,” Sewepagaham said.
This year, precipitation and snow levels are near normal so the community is preparing to rebuild after several years of drought and heat that have exacerbated the danger.
"The winds and heat are stronger now, and we have to think about new ways to manage these fires and protect our communities, " Sewepagaham said.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/0 ... rt-alberta
“We put out a call and 88 of us showed up, grabbed whatever gear we could find and got into a barge. We smudged, said a prayer and crossed the river.”
It was eerily quiet, and there was an ominous orange glow in the sky. The stench of burning plastic and propane filled the air, recalled Conroy Sewepagaham, chief of the First Nation located near Fox Lake.
The province was officially in charge of firefighting, but local firefighters felt they had to act.
“This is our home. We had to go back to the old ways, as the elder said, and fight these fires,” said Sewepagaham.
They worked through the night for several months, which allowed daytime crews, managed by the provincial firefighting force, to staff the front lines during the day. They saved about 30 to 40 homes. Even with their efforts, the damage was catastrophic. Fire destroyed more than 100 homes and 200 structures in the community.
As the 2025 fire season approaches, the Little Red River Cree and other northern Alberta First Nations are looking at lessons learned from past fires and the challenges ahead. The Little Red River Cree say they’re still faced with limited resources and poor collaboration with the province, and have never been recognized for their homegrown fire management success.
The community submitted a plan for a bigger, improved water plant to lift the boil-water advisories and ensure a water supply to help fight house fires and protect against possible forest fires. For years, the community has been asking for better water pressure systems, extended water lines and fire hydrants, Sewepagaham said.
“It’s the new fire season, and we’re still waiting.”
Indigenous people make up five per cent of Canada’s population but are 42 per cent of those evacuated during wildfires. Fox Lake residents were evacuated again for several weeks last year.
Responsibility is often placed on the communities to prepare for fires and evacuations but there is often no follow through with funding or support, said Amy Cardinal Christianson, a Métis scholar and expert in Indigenous fire stewardship and wildfire management.
“Indigenous people have been removed from decision-making about wildland fires and their territories, even though they're primarily impacted by fire,” she said.
Last year, the nation lobbied for a joint task force between the province and their local government to deal with future fires, but it hasn’t happened yet. They have also pushed for FireSmart programs to reduce fire risks by managing vegetation and preparing homes. But those were deemed too expensive by the governments.
Indigenous communities can’t make decisions about their lands when it comes to fire because they are stuck in a jurisdictional limbo between federal and provincial governments, Christianson said. First Nations communities are under federal jurisdiction while wildland fire and emergency management is under provincial control.
The Little Red River Cree have also been pushing the provincial and federal governments to help them establish their own firefighting division and branch. Currently, they work with other crews but don't have full control.
“We know the woods, we know the landscape and we know the changes in elevation,” Sewepagaham said. “We’ve always had a deep relationship with the land. We used fire as a tool, but we are now seeing how climate change is making these events harder.”
Community firefighters
After the Indian Act was amended in 1981, Indigenous communities gained more autonomy, including the ability to farm and reintroduce traditional practices. This change allowed the nation to develop a wildland firefighting business, called the Wildland Firefighting Inc., which is provincially recognized.
This enabled them to provide their wildland firefighting expertise to the province and assist in wildland firefighting efforts across northern Alberta. Since the 1990s, they have trained two or three wildland firefighters from each household in their community.
But they face challenges integrating provincial firefighting protocols with their traditional knowledge, which the province is reluctant to recognize. This results in delays and inefficiencies, Christianson said.
"It’s never easy to evacuate a community, but they (Little Red River Cree) had learned and taken an approach where they were the ones with answers to help support their community."
In 2024, the local firefighters helped the successful evacuation of their 8,600 residents, using boats and canoes on rivers at night when winds were calm. The province assisted with helicopters equipped with night vision.
Sewepagaham said the community was relieved that everyone got out safely.
"It was a sense of pride to see them doing what we did last year," Sewepagaham said. "That’s because of our traditional firefighting practices."
Firefighter training and certification processes have also become more strict over the years and many community members still are not qualified to participate.
“We only had one window to show up and prove to the province that we were fit and ready to fight fires,” Sewepagaham said.
This year, precipitation and snow levels are near normal so the community is preparing to rebuild after several years of drought and heat that have exacerbated the danger.
"The winds and heat are stronger now, and we have to think about new ways to manage these fires and protect our communities, " Sewepagaham said.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/0 ... rt-alberta