How Indigenous ecology is reviving land destroyed by wildfires

What happens to the land after a brutal wildfire? IDEAS visited St'át'imc territory near Lillooet, B.C., to follow land guardians and scientists from the Indigenous Ecology Lab at the University of British Columbia, as they document the effects of wildfires and chart a new future based on Indigenous approaches to healing and balancing an ecosystem. *This is part two of a two-part series.

Guests in this series:

Chief Justin Kane, elected Chief of Ts'kw'aylaxw First Nation

Michelle Edwards, Tmicw coordinator for the St'át'imc Chiefs Council and the former Chief of the communities of Sekw'el'was and Qu'iqten

Sam Copeland, senior land guardian for the P'egp'ig'lha Council

Luther Brigman, assistant land guardian for the P'egp'ig'lha Council

Travis Peters, heritage supervisor and interim lands manager for Xwísten First Nation

Gerald Michel, council member and the Lands Resource Liaison for Xwísten First Nation

Denise Antoine, natural resource specialist for the P'egp'ig'lha Council

Dr. Jennifer Grenz, assistant professor in the department of forest resources management at the University of British Columbia. She leads the Indigenous Ecology Lab at UBC, which works entirely in service to Indigenous communities on land-healing and food systems revitalization projects that bring together western and Indigenous knowledge systems and centres culture and resiliency.

Virginia Oeggerli, graduate student in the Indigenous Ecology Lab in the faculty of forestry at UBC

Dr. Sue Senger, biologist working with the Lillooet Tribal Council

Jackie Rasmussen, executive director of the Lillooet Regional Invasive Species Society