The Use of Fire as a Tool to Enhance Traditional Foods among the Tribal Nations of the Klamath Basin
Klamath Basin Tribal Youth Program 2014, Integrating TEK and Climate Change Science
Dates
Date Received
2015-10-02
Summary
The six federally recognized tribes of the Klamath Basin have depended on traditional foods for survival since time immemorial. Frequent, low-severity fires were implemented historically by tribal peoples to help enhance traditional foods and manage forest growth. For the Karuk Tribe, living in the Mid-Klamath region, over 75% of traditional foods were enriched by fire (Norgaard 2014). Due to the enactment of fire suppression as a national policy for almost a century, many tribal members today do not have access to traditional foods, negatively impacting biological and psychological health. The procurement of traditional foods requires detailed knowledge of the environment, and since the tribal peoples of the Klamath Basin retain a [...]
Summary
The six federally recognized tribes of the Klamath Basin have depended on traditional foods for survival since time immemorial. Frequent, low-severity fires were implemented historically by tribal peoples to help enhance traditional foods and manage forest growth. For the Karuk Tribe, living in the Mid-Klamath region, over 75% of traditional foods were enriched by fire (Norgaard 2014). Due to the enactment of fire suppression as a national policy for almost a century, many tribal members today do not have access to traditional foods, negatively impacting biological and psychological health. The procurement of traditional foods requires detailed knowledge of the environment, and since the tribal peoples of the Klamath Basin retain a spiritual connection to their lands and foods, fire suppression risks the loss of spiritual practices, jeopardizes cultural identity, and weakens the tribal sovereignty of the Native American peoples in the region. I suggest that the ecological and social devastation currently being experienced in the forestlands of the Klamath Basin can be improved through a stronger integration of traditional ecological knowledge and community-based conservation.
