Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation (SXFN) Community Report
Fire has always and will always be a part of Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation (SXFN) Territory, but recent fires have had negative impacts on the two semi-remote SXFN communities called Stswecem’c (Canoe Creek) and Xget’tem (Dog Creek). Both communities are surrounded by dense tsqellp nekéct (Douglas-fir forests) in south-central interior British Columbia (BC). From 2010–2023, the tsqellp nekéct in SXFN Territory have repeatedly burned in multiple large, fast moving, high-severity tsertsrép (wildfires), causing concern regarding the tsertsrép risk in tsqellp nekéct closest to SXFN communities. SXFN is also concerned about the cultural, ecological, and economic impacts of large, high-severity tsertsrép in their Territory, as the health of their tmicw (land) and séwllkwe (water) directly affects the well-being of SXFN community members.
To address this, SXFN partnered with Georgina Preston, the former SXFN Stewardship Manager, to conduct research on the nekéct (forest) that surrounds their communities and the tsertsrép risk within it as part of Georgina’s graduate research at the University of British Columbia. Oral histories from SXFN knowledge keepers have described past tsqellp nekéct as being more open, with fewer small tsreprép (trees). Some knowledge keepers describe the widespread use of burning by their ancestors to create and maintain those nekéct conditions. Today, SXFN is interested in revitalizing and strengthening their yecwemínen (stewardship) practises in their Territory. SXFN wants to proactively and adaptively steward the tsqellp nekéct and téqwenllp (grass) tmicw for community safety and tsertsrép resilience, tsecéntem (restore) ecological and cultural (eco-cultural) systems and adapt their Territory to climate change for the wellbeing of all present and future generations. In essence, SXFN wants to restore wildfire resilient tmicw in SXFN Territory through their own yecwemínem methods, supported by the western science generated by this research.
Under BC laws, SXFN is required to abide by provincial legal objectives for mule deer winter range and old growth management areas when stewarding their tmicw. However, these legal objectives limit nekéct alteration and create bureaucratic barriers to SXFN-led yecwemínen. Additionally, nekéct yecwemínen that prioritizes eco-cultural benefits and retains large tsreprép is currently expensive in BC. This creates economic barriers for vital nekéct yecwemínen, including fuel treatments that remove smaller tsreprép. Despite this, SXFN is continuously advancing nekéct yecwemínen that addresses tsertsrép risk in their Territory. Examples of this include SXFN continuing to regularly burn their tmicw, working with the BC government to implement landscape level fuel breaks on unceded Crown land, or by leading their own nekéct and téqwenllp yecwemínen on private ranch land
near Stswecem’c.
This is a community research report that shares the research findings as well as recommendations for proactive forest stewardship and emergency preparedness in SXFN Territory to better co-exist with wildfire.
Brief overview