First Nations people say devastation from B.C. wildfires threatens cultural identity

Most of Mike McKenzie's summers were spent hunting moose and deer out of his family's camp near his community of Skeetchestn, near Kamloops, B.C. 

But it's been a long time since McKenzie has done this. 

"It's too dangerous," said McKenzie, about record-breaking heat and longer, more intense fire seasons. 

McKenzie has been displaced from his traditional territory since 2017, when the Elephant Hill wildfire burned nearly 192,000 hectares of Secwepemc land. Four years later the community was hit again by the Sparks Lake wildfire that burned about 68,500 hectares. 

This year another series of wildfires has devastated the interior of B.C., disrupting fishing and hunting practices for many First Nations. 

"When you're facing this kind of heat, it gets very nerve-racking to go out there and actually hunt and do all the work you got to do knowing that a big fire could take out your camp or you could have to evacuate," said McKenzie. 

He said what used to be thick lush forest with creeks and waterfalls is now bare with blackened rocks and trees. 

"I knew every rock, every road, every tree, every corner, everywhere you could possibly be," said McKenzie, about the land near his community before the fires. 

"It looks completely different."

McKenzie was the former fire chief of Skeetchestn, and said he worries about living in the interior B.C. now. 

"We're looking at an extinction of our ways if we can't access hunting, fishing, because … the way that we live starts to change and we start to become dependent on grocery stores," said McKenzie. 

McKenzie is also worried about how this year's wildfires will impact salmon runs into Shuswap, which are important food sources and are of cultural significance to the Secwepemc Nation. 

Wildfires can impact watersheds, posing a threat to salmon populations, according to Jonathan Moore, a biology professor at Simon Fraser University and lead on the Salmon Watershed Lab. 

"Wildfires, especially severe wildfires, can have negative consequences to salmon populations," said Moore.