Essay On The Role Of Fire In Indians’ Environmental Management Practices

This paper argues that Indians seem to have used sustainable environmental management strategies because Anderson’s evidence in this respect is extremely varied and more reliable than the evidence brought by Kreck. Both Anderson (125) and Kreck(122) agree in their works that when they arrived in the New World, Europeans found an environment which had been extensively altered by human intervention. However, they give different accounts of how Indians’ activities affected the environment. To support my argument, I will consider the fact that Indians were familiar with plant and animal life and had every interest to support the environment, that they used strategies to facilitate the renewal of plant life and that the narratives of Europeans who criticized them are likely to have been biased.
In Kreck’s work, there is abundant evidence that Indians lit fires which were allowed to burn destructively and with no regard for the ecological consequences (Kreck 120). Many settlers remarked in their writings that the Indians were often neglectful and did not extinguish the fires they caused. This way, fires cold consume hundreds of thousands of acres of forests, and often destroyed the plant and animal life in the region for many years. European settlers recount that many buffaloes were blinded by the fires, or their hair and skin was injured. Narrative accounts recount seeing entire herds lying down dead because of uncontrolled fires induced by Indians (Kreck 121). However, on the contrary, Anderson argues that Indians were not neglectful but on the contrary, they were aware of the dangers of uncontrolled fire, and hence tried to avoid it by setting on fire the low levels of the forests which were too dry and thus allowed the vegetation to renew itself more safely (Anderson 151). By repeatedly performing this action, Indians could safely ensure low intensity fires which could not harm to crowns of the trees (Anderson 151).
While Anderson maintains that Indians have had a deep understanding of plant and animal life and the needs of the environment, Kreck believes that Indians did not purposefully adopt an ecologically friendly attitude, and were more likely driven by their own needs. Anderson explains that, by carefully observing the particular demands of different species, Indians could figure out the best ways to sustain plant and animal life. For example, Anderson shows that many Indians burnt the low level of the forest to get rid of dead leaves and forests (Anderson 146). She brings evidence from interviews conducted with Indians which suggest that their ancestors knew what they were trying to do and why, and they did not set fires carelessly. These accounts are more credible than the accounts of European settlers provided by Kreck, because Europeans may have been biased against Indians, or may have not understood the purpose or origin of the fires they narrated about. Moreover, she also brings evidence from present-day specialists, such as Ted Swiecki, a plant pathologist, who confirms that fire would be helpful in preventing insects from attacking acorn production, if used regularly (Anderson 147). Kreck on the other hand, relies entirely on historical accounts and interprets meanings of the accounts himself. Indian environmental management practices may not have been perfect and may have caused uncontrolled fires at times, but their knowledge of wildlife was extensive, and their intentions were to preserve the environment. For this reason, they are an inspiration for present-day efforts to care for the environment.