Uphold the Right of Indigenous Communities to Exercise Control Over Their Traditional Territories
Indigenous communities make up approximately 42 per cent of evacuations due to wildfires but only make up only five per cent of people living on Turtle Island. During the 2023 fire season, by July, 106 wildfires had affected 93 First Nations, leading to 64 evacuations and impacting nearly 25,000 people. Not only have many homes been lost to fire, but displacement from their homes and communities deprives Indigenous and Metis peoples of their livelihood, food sources, and cultural practices. They may return home to find they homes have been destroyed and to a devastated landscape, impacting hunting and gathering of food and medicine from their traditional territory.[1]
Many wildland firefighters in Canada are members of the Indigenous and Métis nations, and risk their lives fighting wildfires. Yet their communities, which are often remote, have difficulty accessing basic goods, services, and other resources that are necessary for mitigating and building resilience against the impacts of wildfires, and even for fighting fires which threaten their community.
Wildfires have serious effects on the health of Indigenous Peoples. Wildfire smoke is strongly associated with an increase in all-cause mortality, Canada's Public Health Agency has found, as well as death from respiratory and cardiovascular disease, exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and in reproductive and development difficulties such as babies born with low birth weight.
Immediate measures which the Indigenous nations are demanding require provision of fire-fighting equipment to the communities, full mobilization of the Indigenous firefighters, and immediate action to contain fires before they threaten communities. They are also calling for permanent, year-round Indigenous Guardian positions in Indigenous communities and other measures to fully restore their ability to exercise decision-making in accordance with their role as stewards of the land and the knowledge and practices acquired from thousands of years learning to live with fire in the forest.
Across BC and the prairies, and in the Northwest Territories, there have been many evacuations during the 2024 fire season involving tens of thousands of people from First Nations communities.
Northwest Territories
Up to September 18, in the Northwest Territories, there have been 171 fires. The total area burned is 1,671,421 Ha.
Alberta
In Alberta, Little Red River Cree Nation was forced to evacuate for the second year in a row. The nation has about 5,500 members, and is made up of three communities: Garden River, Fox Lake and John D'Or Prairie, located about 560 kilometres north of Edmonton. Evacuations were ordered for Garden River on July 10 and John D'Or Prairie and Fox Lake on July 20. Last year, Fox Lake lost more than 200 structures, including 100 homes, a grocery store, and a water treatment plant. The Fox Lake reserve is accessible only by barge in the summer, which is affected by water fluctuations, and by ice road in the winter. This makes bringing supplies to the community difficult, and around 525 people have been living in hotel rooms in High Level and Fort Vermilion, rented accommodation, camps and tiny homes in Fox Lake since 2023 waiting for their homes to be rebuilt.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba
More than 3,800 people from First Nations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been forced from their homes by wildfires this year.
In response to the Flanagan fire in Saskatchewan which began in early July, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) made the situation more difficult by failing to activate First Nations firefighters. Chief Peter Beatty and the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) released a statement on August 14 informing that the SPSA failed to approve the activation of hundreds of First Nations firefighters that could help extinguish the fires before they become a problem. "Why would you let a fire go that's close to a community until it becomes a huge problem and then try and manage it; at that point, it's unmanageable," Beatty told CBC. He referred to the province's wildfire management as a "let it burn" policy. "There are hundreds of qualified First Nations firefighters ready and willing to assist, but the SPSA has refused to hire them, claiming it is too dangerous. Their reasoning? A lack of proper personal protective equipment,'' the statement said.
Other communities have been threatened during this fire season as well. Prince Albert Grand Council Chief Brian Hardlotte called the province's approach to fire management inadequate and negligent in its disregard for Indigenous communities in northern Saskatchewan, a situation which has existed for the past two decades, he said.
"This isn't just a policy failure, it's a failure of leadership and moral responsibility of the provincial government. Prioritizing economic considerations over human lives and environmental protection is both short-sighted and dangerous," Hardlotte said. "These aren't just remote forests. They are our homes, our sacred lands, and our future. To let them burn without doing everything possible to extinguish the flames is an unforgivable betrayal of our trust," he said.
Around 2,400 members of the Bunibonibee Cree Nation (formerly known as Oxford House) in northeastern Manitoba, were forced to evacuate in August. Bunibonibee Cree Nation is about 577 km north of Winnipeg, and about 185 km southeast of Thompson. People were being evacuated by small passenger planes and a military Hercules jet. The lack of Cree Speakers in the evacuation crews has made the evacuation even more difficult for many who only speak Cree, Chief Hart said. Chief Hart said he had never seen anything like this fire. The combination of dry trees close together and strong winds led to "explosive growth" of the fire.
Indigenous peoples are the traditional guardians and stewards of the land. They know what is needed. The problem lies with the refusal of the Canadian state to recognize Indigenous sovereignty and nation-to- nation relations.
Note
1. Rapid Review: An intersectional analysis of the disproportionate health impacts of wildfires on diverse populations.
(With files from CBC, Global News, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix.)
This article was published in
September 27, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/ITN2024/Articles/TI54186.HTM
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