First Nations Confront Devastating B.C. Wildfires

First Nations are rallying as wildfires ravage large swathes of British Columbia. The blazes have destroyed homes on several reserves, and many indigenous people have refused to be evacuated, choosing instead to stay and fight the flames. The province has declared a state of emergency, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged federal resources, and First Nations chiefs called for a shutdown of the Kinder Morgan TransMountain pipeline.

With several First Nation communities under states of emergency or on evacuation alerts, indigenous leaders supported the decisions of many reserve residents to stay and try to protect their homes rather than leave and risk losing everything. Tsilhqot’in communities reported that wildfires threatened at least four of their six communities: Yunesit’in (Stone), Tl’etinqox (Anaham), ?Esdilagh (Alexandria), and Tl’esqox (Toosey).

https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/first-nations/first-nations-devastating-wildfires/