Barriers to Indigenous Fire Stewardship on Karuk Lands

As climate change drives more frequent and intense wildfires, the revitalization of Indigenous fire stewardship grows increasingly urgent. This paper examines the Karuk Tribe's experiences with settler colonialism and their efforts to restore cultural fire stewardship in the wake of the 2020 Slater Fire, which burned 157,000 acres of Karuk ancestral territory. Through a collaborative, community-engaged case study approach, we conducted 13 interviews with Karuk Tribal members and staff to identify post-fire recovery priorities, explore management options, and examine governance systems affecting Karuk homelands. Participants emphasized that the criminalization of their traditional fire stewardship practices, now compounded by federal land management practices and ongoing obstacles to restoring their ecocultural stewardship, has resulted in forested landscapes prone to high-severity fire, posing a threat to their safety and well-being. Findings highlight how the oppressive forces of settler colonialism persist today, as Karuk people continue to experience barriers to enacting stewardship, sovereignty, and religious freedom. Participants described fire as essential for cultural continuity, ecosystem health, and Karuk governance. The Karuk Tribe's leadership-through policy advocacy, research partnerships, programs like Indigenous Women-in-Fire Training Exchange (TREX), and partnerships grounded in Indigenous data sovereignty-offers a model for advancing ecocultural stewardship. Post-fire landscapes present critical opportunities to reestablish Tribal stewardship and shift to more beneficial fire management paradigms. This research affirms that supporting Indigenous fire knowledge and practice is essential for effective place-based climate adaptation.