ON THIS EPISODE: Part seven of BFF: Beyond Fires and Floods, where we go beyond mainstream infatuation with crisis and catastrophe to instead dive deep into Indigenous climate narratives. Recorded at a 3-day gathering of nearly 40 journalists, scholars and experts last fall at UBC, "Reframing Fire & Forests" was day two's third session, encapsulated as follows:

With extreme fire events monopolizing our attention in the daily news cycle, long-standing Indigenous-led practices of forest care, stewardship and prevention have only begun to make their way into public consciousness and policy. Yet as fires only intensify in an ever-changing climate, one might ask just how 'wild' wildfires are to begin with. Drawing on our discussion of acute events as sites or intersections of larger systems and institutions, panelists will discuss how they make sense of landscapes still reeling from colonialism, and the specific and profound challenges Indigenous communities face as they actively respond to, mitigate, and plan for climate change. Specific attention will also be paid to the role Indigenous languages—another casualty of colonialism many now seek to repair—could play to enable enriched climate coverage.

Moderated by Candis Callison—a jointly-appointed Professor in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies at UBC—she sat together with panelists Warren Cardinal McTeague, Keara Lightning, Leonard Linklater, and Bernard Perley.

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// CREDITS: Our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic; 'Cloud Seven' by Joseph Sacco (CC-BY); 'Dream Diary' by Pamela Yuen (CC-BY)