Good Fire Podcast by Amy Cardinal Christianson and Matthew KristoffStories of Indigenous fire stewardship, cultural and social empowerment and environmental integrityExistence Is Resistance with Tiffany JosephEpisode highlightIn this episode, Tiffany Joseph talks about native Indigenous plants and their ability to heal the ecosystem.ResourcesTiffany JosephXAXE TENEW SACRED LAND SOCIETYCommunity Profile: W̱SÁNEĆ’s ŚW̱,XELOSELWET Tiffany JosephPollinator PartnershipThe Story of SEMSEMÍYE by Tiffany JosephThe Cowichan Sweater: Our Knitted LegacySponsorsCanada WildfireIndigenous Leadership InitiativeQuotes13.19 - 13.41: “Anytime we are on the land, you have to have good thoughts and feelings, so anytime you light a fire, you have to be in that prayerful mindset, and being in a prayerful mindset really means having that abundance of positivity within your heart and your mind.” 21.54 - 22.27: “Settlers, they are hungry for culture basically and really they need to find their own roots… they have to… trace their English or Celtic origins, whatever it is, and connect with that, so I found that eagerness to work with fire with us… came from… a hungry place of not having their own cultures.”TakeawaysCamera Lady (03.12)Tiffany is of Sḵx̱wu7mesh and W̱SÁNEĆ ancestry. Coast Salish Nations' protocol is to introduce their family when they introduce themselves to help others connect with them easily. She finds it important to introduce both her parents and grandparents, as well as her children, because while her parents and grandparents are the reason she came into the world, her children are the reason she stays. Her Indigenous nickname, ŚW̱, XELOSELWET, stands for ‘camera lady’, and she has a certificate in Indigenous independent filmmaking from Capilano University. A field of blue (05.41)Tiffany began learning about Indigenous plants and restoration work in 2014 when she participated in the ‘Growing Our Futures’ program in SȾÁUTW̱. All the Indigenous participants recognized those plants as their Indigenous medicines, and reflect fondly on being able to learn about them. She began doing land restoration in 2015 and is focused on that work, specifically camas, whose bright blue colour made a field look like a sea to a visiting botanist. Camas is a food staple whose meadows used to cover the entire landscape from Beecher Bay First Nation to Southern Vancouver Island. Indigenous territory (08.49)Tiffany laments that colonizers looked at the rich fertile lands, which was tended to make abundant meadows of camas, as theirs to steal. They operated under the ‘Terra nullius’ mindset wherein land was considered unoccupied unless occupied by a Christian even though there were thousands of Indigenous people living here. They considered the land wild even though the meadows were tended with controlled burns. The mighty oak used to be a companion plant to camas which grew stronger with controlled burns, and the falling branches and leaves fertilized the soil for the camas.“We are all connected” (11.24)Tiffany explains that the Indigenous ancestors learned that by burning the mighty oak leaves, their high acidity could be transformed into proper nutrients needed for the soil, which was clay. While the colonizers believed nothing could grow in the clay, the Indigenous peoples “grew enough camas to make it look like an ocean” and had the greatest biodiversity of any ecosystem in BC. She emphasizes the importance of having good thoughts and feelings, how having a prayerful mindset gives rise to abundant outcomes, and how everything is connected - the mind, heart, and all kinds of people. Fire is life (18.34)Tiffany finds that settlers don’t apply Indigenous knowledge in caring for the land, whereas Indigenous peoples have ancient wisdom that helps them anticipate the needs of the land better. However, she celebrates that Parks Canada has recognized traditional knowledge of fire as valid in land management. She discusses the considerations around holding burns near burial cairns, with some groups having always done it and some having reservations about doing so. She reflects that many people do not have a relationship with fire due to past experiences, but they can have a spiritual relationship with fire.The settler mindset is fear-based (27.05)Through restoration work, Tiffany has learned about an invasive plant called scotch broom, with yellow flowers and big seed pods. She found the old method of pulling out the plants ineffective and suggested a controlled burn to Parks Canada, followed by digging out seed banks using machinery. They were able to find many native plants in the soil. Indigenous people have always cared for all life, but the colonial mindset looks at humans as inherently selfish and only capable of harming the land. She finds that the colonial violence inflicted upon Indigenous lands and people has led to fear of humans.Land back (32.19)Tiffany does not...
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