Wildfires have become an increasingly familiar problem for many people on and around the West Coast. Because these large-scale fires have become harmful to so many communities, researchers and the general public often look to climate change for answers to this phenomenon. However, there is another answer that is beginning to gain traction and recognition in the broader media and has been understood by Native Americans in this region since time immemorial. This response is the use of fire and prescribed burning to promote diversity in forest life, enhance resources vital to the area, and clear dense brush that would otherwise fuel high-severity fires. The article “What Western States Can Learn from Native American Wildfire Management Strategies” by Kari Marie Norgaard and Sara Worl of the University of Oregon further examines this relationship between bans on indigenous ceremonial fires and increases in frequency and severity of forest fires. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The article focuses on northwestern California and southern Oregon, where some of the most devastating wildfires in the area's history recently occurred. This area is also home to the Karuk tribe and much of its population. With the increase in severe fires severely impacting the Karuk people's ability to live and thrive, activists are illustrating how having a relationship with fire that involves fear and helplessness is destructive to overall fire management. Rather, it should be a relationship that views fire as “inevitable and necessary in many ecosystems.” Native Americans have used fire to manage forest ecosystems over time, allowing for an expansion of biodiversity and reducing the buildup of fuels that create more dangerous fires. The Karuk tribe's use of frequent, low-intensity fires was critical to the evolution of flora and fauna, as well as providing shade to cool river water temperatures, benefiting fish during the warmer months of the year. The move away from these traditional fire practices was first introduced and then perpetuated by Euro-American colonizers who, while amazed by the biodiversity, did not recognize that the use of fire in the area was responsible for it. Through colonization, fire suppression was imposed, land burning ceremonies were banned, and “the greatest changes in fire behavior in California in the last 400 years” were observed. The authors explain that “the genocide of indigenous peoples is directly related to today's catastrophic fires.” This article, along with the accompanying videos, provides a comprehensive background on how the oppression of Native Americans has forever changed lives and landscapes, as well as provides insight into how restoring traditional indigenous fire practices can be instrumental in restoration processes. The authors present some of the actions taken to restore forests and protect the public, such as the Karuk tribe's climate adaptation plan. This is a problem that, if not addressed in the near future, will be harmful to various populations and ecosystems. The harms of institutional fire suppression are widely felt, but especially affect the people of the Karuk tribe. The Karuk are a federally recognized tribe and are found primarily in the northwestern region of California in Humboldt and Siskiyou counties. Due to the harmful effects ofcolonization, the tribe was not granted a true reserve of land. However, the Karuk people have not allowed this to stop them from carrying on their culture and way of life. The Karuk Tribal Council currently consists of nine members spread across three districts. The goal of the council is to “promote the general welfare of all Karuk people, establish equality and justice for our tribe, restore and preserve tribal traditions, customs, language, language and traditions” .and ancestral rights, and to secure to ourselves and our descendants the power to exercise the rights inherent in self-government.” Over the past fifty years, the tribe has “succeeded in acquiring 1,661 acres of Aboriginal land [and] had the United States place 900 of those acres into trust status.” Throughout their people's history, the use of fire has been essential for cultivating "grasslands for elk, foraging food sources such as brown and black oak acorns, maintaining quality basketry materials, and producing smoke that can shade the river for the fish." However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the U.S. Forest Service implemented a ban on land burning ceremonies that essentially directly targeted native populations. Under this ban, indigenous people could be fined for burning their own lands. The bans have since been lifted but quickly reintroduced. These bans have created a “socio-ecological trap” in which practices that contribute to the improvement of ecosystems become very difficult to practice due to current and historical legal and political constraints. Nonetheless, as there is now growing awareness of this issue, the Forest Service has begun to recognize that fire suppression is not an effective or beneficial land management tactic and is reconsidering the scope of the bans. These bans have had extreme effects and have altered the lifestyle of the people in this tribe and area. The effects range from a severe loss of culture and practices to the creation of food deserts. Ecosystem changes through fire suppression have made traditional foods critical to a sustainable lifestyle, from acorns to fish, the availability of which has declined dramatically. In addition to access to food, the people of the Karuk tribe have also experienced a change in the way they relate to the land. Many of the traditionally practiced earth burning ceremonies were central to their spiritual relationships and, consequently, their identities. Norgaard and Worl's article explains how the accumulation of all these factors and effects demonstrates the use of “fire suppression as colonial violence.” The indigenous Karuk people of this region have complex knowledge systems regarding the survival of their people and the only reason why fire bans would be introduced is due to colonial and oppressive factors and mentalities against the native peoples. It was yet another way the U.S. government demonstrated oppression and contempt towards American Indians. High severity fires bring many concerns and consequences that are felt across various populations and although it has become a problem for many, the real problem lies in the creation and continuation of these harmful firefighting practices. I personally strongly support movements that allow Native Americans to return to the forefront of beneficial fire management. The harmful effects of mismanagement range from impacts on people's health to devastating ecosystem losses. As can be seen for many of the social issues.