#Fires, #Fascism and the Loss of #IndigenousKnowledge

On returning from filming a #wildfire documentary, #PeterKnapp explains how fascism and #racism are connected to #wildfires. LA is just the latest example.

"Replacing the #IndigenousPeople and the fire-resistant natural forests with flammable buildings, fences, bushes, leaf piles, and other colonist infrastructure has made the area much more prone to catastrophic wildfires. This needs to be recognised and the natural balance achieved by the Native Californians needs to be realised and rapidly scaled up to avoid similar catastrophes."

Peter Knapp, January 21, 2025

"Firstly, let’s summarise the scale of the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles to the time of writing (16th Jan). Over an area roughly three times the size of Manhattan, over 12,000 homes have been reduced to ashes, forcing the evacuation of 150,000 people and leaving entire neighbourhoods in ruins. The fires have claimed 25 lives, with 24 individuals still missing. Economic losses and damages are estimated to reach $250 billion, potentially making this the most expensive wildfire in U.S. history, largely due to its destruction of some of the nation’s most valuable real estate.

"Not just celebrities’ homes were destroyed, of course. The Palisades Bowl trailer park, home to nearly 200 mobile units, was largely engulfed in flames. The diverse Altadena community saw over 14,000 acres burnt, including homes, schools, churches, and businesses. Yet, crowdfunding has supported wealthier neighbourhoods much more. This catastrophe, like so many others yet to come, disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable.

"Throughout June-September 2024, I filmed an independent documentary looking at wildfires, their causes and impact. I interviewed 48 people in 6 different countries about their experiences with wildfires or their expertise in tackling them. This took me into a number of interesting side alleys, including the links with organised crime and political corruption. I looked at mental health, biodiversity loss, community-building, and wildfire resilience. But one theme kept returning again and again: the Far Right and fascism. Modern day fascism capitalises on any crisis and, in the case of wildfires, make them more likely.

"I was — and remain — deep in the editing phase of my film when the LA fires, including the Palisades fire, raged. And so I saw these links playing out again, in real time. Here are some reasons for how the LA fires have become so bad, how they are linked to the loss of Indigenous Knowledge — and fascism.

Fire suppression and controlled burning

"For more than 13,000 years before European #colonisation, most #Indigenous Californians practiced controlled burning for a steady supply of food and medicinal plants while maintaining #ecosystem balance.

"This practice preserved old growth while burning the flammable shrub, grasses, and bushes to stop them building up, thereby reducing the chances of catastrophic fires.

"But the #LandGrabs, genocides, and removal of Indigenous Californians led to a loss of this vital sustainable practice. Soon after Western occupation, more than 37,000 Indigenous Californians died at the early Christian missions, and between 1850–1870 around 80% of their population were wiped out. Racist and #colonial attitudes embodied in the '#IndianProblem' gave Europeans the right to enslave native people and take custody of their children.

"In 1830, the Removal Act aimed to displace #NativeAmericans from their tribal lands, whereby the President could grant land west of the Mississippi River to Native Americans that agreed to give up their homelands.

"In 1850, the US government passed the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians, which outlawed intentional burning in California. In 1851, California’s first governor, Peter Burnett, declared that a 'war of extermination' needed to be waged upon Indigenous peoples. A series of unratified treaties of ‘peace and friendship’ forced them out of the coastal areas, including the LA region.

"In 1910, a string of disastrous wildfires, famously dubbed the '#BigBlowup,' ravaged Idaho and Montana and claimed the lives of over 100 firefighters. These were pivotal in persuading Congress, under the advocacy of forest reserve supporters, to create an agency dedicated primarily to suppressing wildfires.

"As the destruction of the natural beauty of the forests was realised by politicians, a ‘zero burn’ strategy to preserve the forests was created, in part to protect the economy and the natural beauty. The Weeks Act of 1911, aimed at protecting nature in the east of the USA, made the indigenous practices of ‘cultural uses of fire’ illegal."

Read more:
https://medium.com/the-new-climate/fires-fascism-and-the-loss-of-indigenous-knowledge-f8609c630231

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/VX9GF
#ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #IndigenousKnowledge #Colonialism #StolenChildren #BoardingSchools #StolenLand #OverDevelopment

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