Incendiary politics: histories of Indigenous Burning and Environmental Debates in Australia and the United States

The 2018 wildfires around the globe have been dramatic, prompting
headlines about the world being on fire. The 2018 fire season is
unusual in that so many places are experiencing major fires at
the same time. California and some areas in Australia were hard
hit, but these places are used to wildfires.


The political aftermath of catastrophic firestorms in both
Australia and the United States has involved commissions or
parliamentary inquiries, with terms of reference that include
investigation into assessing or improving fire management
policies. Part of these policies is the use of prescribed
burning for fuel reduction, which has a long history in Australia
but less so in the United States. Prescribed burning for fuel
reduction has been heavily influenced by perceived or real
understandings of Indigenous burning practices.


Daniel May is a PhD student at the Australian National University
and on this episode of the podcast he explores the political and
cultural influences of the historical debates surrounding
understandings of Indigenous fire-use in Australia and the US.
His aim is to expose the rhetorical strategies and political
fault lines of the interest groups, past and present, attempting
to influence policy making.


Music credits


"4 Guitarreros" by  Doxent
Zsigmond


"Didgeridoo And Annabloom Too" by Speck


"Speculation Alley" by  Martijn
de Boer (NiGiD)


All available from ccMixter