The indigenous solution to California's wildfire problem
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2021-06-24
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en
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Abstract
Fire as medicine to prevent raging wildfires. It was the indigenous answer to wildfire management for
years, until colonization ended it. Indigenous peoples all around the world share a deep bond with
nature as their culture and rituals are deeply embedded in it. Cultural burning is just one example of
such a ritual. In the United States, indigenous peoples were prohibited from performing cultural burns
as the settlers were afraid of the fire. Instead, the settlers instigated a policy of fire suppression that
would last for decades. This suppression policy is part of the reason that in the last decades, California
in particular has been battling with the most severe wildfires in its history. In 2020, California faced its
worst wildfire season yet. After this wildfire season, in January 2021 for the first time ever, indigenous
knowledge was implemented in California’s wildfire strategy. This was a historical moment and gives
rise to the question ‘How and under what conditions is indigenous knowledge incorporated into
environmental policy?’ To disentangle how indigenous knowledge was implemented, this thesis
adopts an interdisciplinary theoretical framework to capture both social movement theory as well as
postcolonial theory. Postcolonial is used to complement the social movement concepts to capture the
specificities of the indigenous social movement. A process tracing analysis was conducted in order to
shine light on the process of implementation. From the analysis it was concluded that it is likely that
the indigenous social movements in California have exerted influence on their policymakers. They
were able to use the opportunity structure to their advantage and could through framing processes,
connect their issues to a broader discussion. Future academic research is necessary to conclude
whether the implementation of indigenous traditional knowledge in wildfire policy is part of a larger trend.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen