By Scout Nelson
A University of Kansas researcher is bringing new insight into Indigenous fire sovereignty, connecting global ecosystems through shared knowledge of cultural burning. Melinda Adams, KU’s Langston Hughes Assistant Professor in Indigenous Studies and Geography & Atmospheric Science, is leading research that highlights the ecological and cultural importance of controlled Indigenous burning.
Adams recently collaborated on a paper titled “Tree rings reveal persistent Western Apache (Ndee) fire stewardship and niche construction in the American Southwest,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The study, led by Southern Methodist University professor Christopher Roos, analyzed nearly 650 tree ring samples comparing regions inside and outside the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona.
“The climactic influence of Apache fire stewardship was the revelation of the paper,” Adams said. “I believe it's seminal work because it challenges the assumptions that dendrochronological records were produced by naturally occurring wildfire, when, in fact, reexamining the ring patterns and from questions that our research team asked, it signals and affirms that it was Indigenous peoples purposely placing fire to those landscapes.”
Adams emphasized that the study’s significance lies in recognizing fire as a purposeful cultural practice rather than a natural phenomenon. Her collaboration with Jonathan Long, a retired U.S. Forest Service ecologist, resulted in another paper, “Indigenous Fire Stewardship to Revitalize Disrupted Ecosystems,” published in Global Change Biology. The article builds on work by Elle Bowd from the Australian National University, showing the shared ecological benefits of Indigenous-led burning practices.
Working alongside the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Adams is helping reintroduce these beneficial fire regimes to tribal lands. “This work affirms Indigenous fire sovereignty, revitalizing fire stewardship not only as an ancient land-tending practice but as a current endeavor reintroducing responsible fire into landscapes long deprived of its presence,” she said.
Adams will share more on this topic at KU’s upcoming November Research Luncheon titled “Wildfire Resilience: Indigenous Fire Research, Policy and Data in the U.S.”
Photo Credit:kansas-state-university
Categories: Kansas, Education, General