Fire Tender

Yurok people have been putting fire on the land since time immemorial...but this practice has been disrupted by California settlers. Catastrophic fires in the West, however, has policymakers rethinking their commitment to fire suppression. FIRE TENDER shares the work of Margo Robbins, a Yurok knowledge keeper, seeking to return practices to Yurok territory, and to restore the land and its people.

Yurok people have been putting fire on the land since time immemorial...but this practice has been disrupted by California settlers. Catastrophic fires in the West, however, has policymakers rethinking their commitment to fire suppression. FIRE TENDER shares the work of Margo Robbins, a Yurok knowledge keeper, seeking to return practices to Yurok territory, and to restore the land and its people.

In the U.S., fire is seen as destructive. But for Native tribes like the Yurok, it is essential to life. Margo Robbins explains how reclaiming fire and bringing it back to the land is a method of fire suppression known as controlled burning and also reignites the growth of plants that are used to create everyday items like baskets.

The Weeks Act of 1911 was signed into law for the creation of national forests, protecting millions of acres of land and water. The Act set up a foundation for fighting forest fires but this meant Native tribes could no longer put fire to land to prevent wildfires and ensure plant growth. Now, the federal government is turning to people like Margo Robbins and their knowledge of controlled burns.