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Aaron Miles discusses the Nimíipuu use of fire as a means for sound resource management Item Info

Fire is probably the prime example, fire. We’ve suppressed fire for a little over a hundred years now. And, Now do to all these issues arise of what does it mean to be a steward of the land and how does fire play a major role. We already know that, ya know from our culture, from our oral histories that the Nez Perce burned quite frequently the land. Three to five year intervals, deliberate fires, ya know because that provided our sustenance and really leading into our spirituality. So, now Americans are finally beginning to grapple and understand what that really means. What does it mean the connection of the land? And so, fire we’ve known as an important part, a management tool and now scientifically it is, but culturally it has always been there. But, for congress to finally understand after houses get burned down, or you know, how do we manage our landscape in a way that, uhm, best suits us? The things that they are finding out we’ve already known. They didn’t have to go learn, they didn’t have to run through the dark forests and run into trees left and right. They could have just turned to their neighbor, us, and asked us what we thought rather than running over 120 years of suppression.

Title:
Aaron Miles discusses the Nimíipuu use of fire as a means for sound resource management
Date Created:
2001-11
Description:
Aaron Miles, Manager of the Natural Resources Department, discusses the Nimíipuu use of fire (as a cultural, spiritual and biological practice) as a means for sound resource management. (Interviewed by Rodney Frey, November 2001)
Source
Preferred Citation:
"Aaron Miles discusses the Nimíipuu use of fire as a means for sound resource management", Nimíipuu L3, Center for Digital Inquiry and Learning (CDIL)
Reference Link:
https://cdil.lib.uidaho.edu/nimiipuu-l3/items/nimiipuu-l3-110.html
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