Push to revive Indigenous fire practices before bush fire season

First Nations elders call for rethinking land management as Firesticks revives Indigenous burning knowledge against bushfires.

As Australia braces itself for another potential bushfire season, First Nations elders are urging a re-evaluation of modern land management practices.

In response to the devastating bushfires of 2019 and 2020, Firesticks, an Indigenous fire knowledge mentoring project, launched a pilot program to train fire practitioners in traditional burning techniques as practiced by First Nations Communities for tens of thousands of years.

Firesticks co-founder and lead fire practitioner. Victor Steffensen, said the mentoring program was “crucial to support our resilience as a nation”.

“It’s about getting people out on to country and using good fire to heal the land. Because we know when we improve the health of the landscape, we improve its resilience against wildfires,” he said.

Victor Steffensen with Aunty Rhonda in Far North QLD. Photo: Sian Hromek

As a young man, Mr Steffensen observed cultural burning practises from two elders in Cape York and between the three of them they started to record knowledge for future generations.

“The elders could see the problems with the landscape, like loss of diversity and loss of vegetation, loss of animals and they were frustrated with the way Western authorities were lighting fires, and the way they were burned,” he said.

Mr Steffensen describes western-style backburning as “hazard reduction”,

“Even the words ‘hazard reduction’ or ‘mitigation burns’, all that language is very military based. It’s also very negative. Aboriginal burning is totally different, it’s about looking after the land, it’s improving the health of our landscapes to improve the animal diversity and more important to make our landscapes healthy. In a simple way it’s about bringing back the lands’ identity to how it has been for thousands of years.”

He further explains Indigenous burning windows are far greater than what western techniques prescribe, burning all year-round, except in excessively dry conditions, and continuing to burn even during the wet seasons.

“It’s about listening to Mother Nature and working with the grain rather than against the grain.”

Indigenous fire practise is about looking after the land, says Victor Steffensen. Picture: Supplied

Not only has Firesticks had a great success working with Indigenous communities locally, but interest in the program has spread to Canada.

“They have the same problems as us where Western systems are dominating and really limiting the opportunity for Aboriginal people to demonstrate their ancient knowledge of the land. We’ve had amazing outcomes in Canada burning over 500 hectares in our last trip.”

In partnership with Suncorp, Firesticks training services and research manager, Peta Standley, said the mentoring program will enable Indigenous fire practitioners to conduct cultural burns on their country as part of their cultural obligations, as well as fee for service work with private and public landholders, bringing much needed employment opportunities in regional and rural areas.

Local communities will benefit from the Firesticks program. Picture: Supplied

“At Suncorp, we know all too well the impacts of devastating fires, not only on property but also on people,” said CEO Steve Johnston.

“But as a community we need to do better at preparing and mitigating severe weather events like bushfires before they happen, not just deal with the recovery after. Cultural burning practices which have been used for thousands of years have an important role in helping to mitigate the impacts of bushfires and improving disaster resilience,” he said.

“We may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but we will keep advocating to do more to reduce the risks and protect communities.”