Fire on the Land
Native People and Fire in the Northern Rockies

"That is Why They Would Burn"

"That is why my elders—my father's father and beyond—that is why they would burn: for the animals and for the huckleberries and the medicines." John Peter Paul, Pend d’Oreille elder, circa 1999

For thousands of years, the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and other tribes of the Northern Rockies periodically set fire to the land, profoundly shaping plant and animal communities. On this website, you can view historic images of landscapes shaped by fire and see how they have changed as a result of fire suppression. You can hear elder interviews about fire, listen to a Coyote story* about the gift of fire, learn about fire ecology, explore the traditional use of fire by the tribes, how that has changed over the last one hundred and fifty years. Finally, you can learn about the Tribes efforts today to restore landscapes by reintroducing fire.


Get Started


* The Tribes' Coyote stories are sacred stories that can only be listened to or read in the winter, when there is snow on the ground.

Fire on the Land
Native People and Fire in the Northern Rockies

"That is Why They Would Burn"

"That is why my elders—my father's father and beyond—that is why they would burn: for the animals and for the huckleberries and the medicines." John Peter Paul, Pend d’Oreille elder, circa 1999

For thousands of years, the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and other tribes of the Northern Rockies periodically set fire to the land, profoundly shaping plant and animal communities. On this website, you can view historic images of landscapes shaped by fire and see how they have changed as a result of fire suppression. You can hear elder interviews about fire, listen to a Coyote story* about the gift of fire, learn about fire ecology, explore the traditional use of fire by the tribes, how that has changed over the last one hundred and fifty years. Finally, you can learn about the Tribes efforts today to restore landscapes by reintroducing fire.


Get Started


* The Tribes' Coyote stories are sacred stories that can only be listened to or read in the winter, when there is snow on the ground.

Fire on the Land
Native People and Fire in the Northern Rockies

"That is Why They Would Burn"

"That is why my elders—my father's father and beyond—that is why they would burn: for the animals and for the huckleberries and the medicines." John Peter Paul, Pend d’Oreille elder, circa 1999

For thousands of years, the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and other tribes of the Northern Rockies periodically set fire to the land, profoundly shaping plant and animal communities. On this website, you can view historic images of landscapes shaped by fire and see how they have changed as a result of fire suppression. You can hear elder interviews about fire, listen to a Coyote story* about the gift of fire, learn about fire ecology, explore the traditional use of fire by the tribes, how that has changed over the last one hundred and fifty years. Finally, you can learn about the Tribes efforts today to restore landscapes by reintroducing fire.

Get Started