In California, women learn how to protect their ancestral lands with fire – By Debra Utacia Krol (Arizona Republic) / Jan 30, 2023
About 50 women came to Karuk country to train and learn about bringing fire back to the land, as their ancestors had for generations.
ORLEANS, Calif. — On a nearly 45-degree slope along the middle Klamath River in October, Isha Goodwin joined women from across the planet preparing to set fire to the land surrounding Ishraamhírak, a Karuk village site north of Orleans.
Under a dappled canopy of conifers, tanoak and oak trees, and the occasional poison oak patch, Goodwin, a member of the Karuk Tribe, drew fiery circles with a drip torch on accumulations of dead leaves, twigs and other dried-out plant material, or duff as it’s known in the fire trade.
Others wielding fire rakes, pickaxes and shovels watched carefully to ensure the flames didn’t escape the boundaries set by the burn boss, the person in charge of the day’s event. A crew from a nearby tribe brought a water truck for backup.
About 50 women from Indigenous communities across the United States, Canada and Australia had converged on Karuk country to train and learn more about bringing fire back to the land at the first-ever all-Indigenous, all-female training and exchange camp.
