Cultural Burning Panel

After the Black Summer of 2019–2020, which affected many First Nations people and Countries directly, interest in Aboriginal fire knowledge and cultural burning has gained a new urgency. Governments and settler publics often problematically focus on what cultural burning can do for them to reduce bushfire hazards. Yet cultural burning is much more than a method for risk management; rather, it is a deep practice that harbors knowledge of and relation to Country. Despite their shortcomings, the inquiries into the 2019–2020 fires, including the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, have created new opportunities for further rekindling Indigenous land management using fire. 

This panel explores present and future geographies of cultural burning in south-eastern Australia and asks what problems and prospects arise from the current conjuncture. It will bring together First Nations geographers to present 10 minute papers about cultural fire. A discussant will provide reflections on each paper, with sufficient time allocated to Q&As from the audience.