Search

The revitalization of cultural burning is a priority for many Native American tribes and for agencies and organizations that recognize the cultural and ecological importance of this practice. Traditional fire practitioners are working to resist the impact of settler colonialism and reestablish cultural burning to promote traditional foods and materials, exercise their sovereignty in land management, and strengthen their communities' cultural, physical and emotional wellbeing. Despite broad support for cultural burning, the needs of practitioners are often poorly understood by non-Native people, limiting the potential for productive cross-cultural partnerships and programs and services that serve Indigenous nations and communities. This article describes lessons learned from two Indigenous Fire Workshops that brought together cultural fire practitioners, researchers, agency and NGO representatives and members of the public to learn about the use and benefits of cultural burning in California. Through a community-based research project, we explore the practice of Native American cultural burning in two communities in California, its tangible and intangible benefits, and how it differs from non-Indigenous fire practices. We highlight specific cultural elements that are fundamental to these practices but are sometimes misunderstood by non-Native people. We describe the unique needs and challenges faced by practitioners and ways that different entities can support practitioners seeking to revitalize the use of cultural burning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success achieved by Pacific Northwest tribes in their economic development by using the funds issued by the Nortwest Economic Adjustment Initiative is discussed.

Woody plant species in bald cypress swamps are recruitment limited. Seeds of most wetland plants will not germinate under water and so must survive until draw down. Therefore, seed survivorship is a crucial component for natural regeneration of these forests. A field study was conducted to examine seed survivorship of four woody plant species common in bald cypress swamps in southern Illinois. Seeds of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), water locust (Gleditsia aquatica) and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) were placed under flooded conditions in situ over 18 months. Considerable variation was observed in initial seed viability among the four species. There were significant declines in seed viability of all four species. Rates and patterns of seed survivorship differed among the four species. Bald cypress had the fastest decline in seed survivorship with only one half of seeds surviving 1.4 months, followed by water locust (14 months). One half of water tupelo and buttonbush seeds were predicted to survive 20 and 39 months, respectively. Bald cypress seeds had an exponential decline in viability over time, where as water tupelo and water locust seeds declined according to a second order regression line and seeds of buttonbush declined linearly over the duration of the study. Estimated maximum age of seeds was similar between water tupelo (30 months), bald cypress (25 months) and water locust (23 months). Buttonbush had the longest estimated seed longevity (150 months). These differences in seed survivorship may have significant effects on community structure by all but eliminating bald cypress seedling establishment following drawdown while favoring the establishment of buttonbush. Infrequent drawdown events are also likely to greatly favor the establishment of buttonbush over other species due to seed longevity.