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As a Native Hawaiian descendant, I grew up learning the intrinsic value of my home here in Hawaiʻi and later learned this landscape in itʻs entirety is a cultural landscape. As we face over development, climate change, and sea-level rise it is critical that we are able to protect our cultural resources and properties that are part of our identity and history. Archaeology is a toolkit that allows us to study places and lifeways associated with our ancestors, so that we maintain continuity of identity, culture and tradition. I am in the early stages of my education in Fire Archaeology and look forward to learning from other indigenous tribes, resources specialist, and Fire Archaeologists that have dedicated their time and passion to protecting the resource.

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I believe preserving cultural resources is important because it connects us with the past and shapes our identity. With increasing fires, especially in the American West, fire archaeology will become a crucial part of managing cultural resources.

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I do fire archaeology, specifically, for a number of reasons. 1, to support tribal self-determination. 2, to be a good steward of the resource. and 3, to be a good partner to our neighbors who manage tribal resources off tribal lands.

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Understanding the past is limited to the records left behind through oral and written testimony, as well as what is left behind in the material record. Written and oral testimonies are ultimately skewed based on the limitations of those that create them, and pass them along. The archaeological record is also flawed, but provides insight into what is not apparent in the testimony, and vice-versa. No story of the past is ever complete, but by using a combination of these sources, we can have a better understanding of past human behavior. As the old adage goes, by understanding the past, we will be better prepared for the future. Archaeological resources are finite. The more they are damaged, the harder it is to make sense of the what it is trying to tell us. Fire has burned over several of these sites dozens of times with manageable effects, but a bulldozer or handline through a site can be absolutely devastating.

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Why I do fire archaeology and resources advising is because I care deeply for our globe’s natural and cultural resources. Climatic changes are all around us from rising sea levels, species extinctions, ecosystem shifts, and an increase in more intense and larger wildfires. I felt overwhelmed on how to assist and make a difference in relation to climate change. I found fire archaeology as a proactive way to assist with the protection of natural and cultural resources. During a field season at the Santa Fe National Forest, I oversaw site thinning of fire-sensitive sites throughout a mesa. Afterwards, I was able to assist in a prescribed burn of the site-thinned area. Following the burn, I conducted post-burn assessments and saw minimal impacts to the thinned sites; whereas sites that were not thinned had impacts from the fire. From this process, I saw a practical way to mitigate the impacts of climate change on cultural resources and to let a landscape burn while protecting fire-sensitive sites. Although completing a large-scale site thinning project is impossible while being on an active incident, resource advising gave me the same feeling that I was helping to protect resources. Small victories like not bulldozing through an artifact scatter, to digging handline around the site instead of through it, to providing a site boundary to a READ right before the dozerline was created. These aspects of resource advising gave me the same feeling of making a difference. I love being involved in fire archaeology because the work consists of tangible protection measures to protect resources that are faced with more intense and larger fires. Fire archaeology provides an opportunity to mitigate an impact of climate change on cultural resources.

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Cultural resources are living resources. They are not just the remains of the past but represent how we got to the present and are a part of where we are going. The times we are living in are unprecedented in so many ways and how we show up and protect these important resources will have long lasting effects. Protecting cultural resources isn't just the responsibility of archaeologists, it takes everybody. I want to help spread that message, particularily through the fire community, so we can all share this common goal and work together to protect cultural resources.

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Archaeology means both studying AND protecting the past. Understanding how fire can impact cultural resources is a crucial skillset for archaeologists and resource managers. I want to learn to be a better advocate for cultural resources in times of fire and uncertainty.

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Archaeology means both studying AND protecting the past. Understanding how fire can impact cultural resources is a crucial skillset for archaeologists and resource managers. I want to learn to be a better advocate for cultural resources in times of fire and uncertainty.

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Archaeology is a window into the past. It gives us a glimpse into what life was like. Once it's gone, that window isn't there anymore. It helps people connect to their past and get a better understanding, as well as a way to connect us to each other throughout time. If you give people a why this is important, or why you are recommending a protection measures one way over the other, it gives them more of a sense of purpose for what they are doing. Cultural resources are irreplaceable.

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I believe it'd important to protect our heritage. I believe it's also important to protect other people's heritage. This heritage is what teaches us about the past, provides us with knowledge to use in our present, and then continue to share with everyone else to learn the same lessons (as well as to enjoy). I want to do fire archaeology because I want to help protect this heritage so that everyone can enjoy, learn, and experience them.

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I believe in the irreplaceable value of the past that archeology can bring into our lives. This value does not diminish in emergencies, and I wish to use my voice and skills to convey to others how important cultural resources are. The past can provide solace and solidarity in times of disaster, making it even more important to be an ARCH these days.

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In my experience, fire archaeology is archaeology, and wildfire response is as much a part of my job as recreation, timber, and special use projects. As fire season grows longer and more intense every year, I can help my resource and the people around me by being prepared and available to help however I'm capable and comfortable when wildfires start.

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I want to do fire archaeology because I want to do my part to preserve both my cultural heritage and the cultural heritage of others. (There are infinite reasons why this is so important) I don't believe in sitting back and watching things you care about get destroyed without trying to do something to stop it or save it. If someone were to destroy something you cared deeply about, would you sit back and let it happen or would you try to stop them?

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In 2017, I watched my hometown go up in flames from the rooftop of my childhood home. The Tubbs Fire blew into downtown Santa Rosa while the Nuns Fire was creeping into Rohnert Park. These fires would soon become one of several that were labeled as the Santa Rosa ‘firestorm’. At the time, I had very little understanding of the realities of the fire world. I had multiple family members in both wildland and structure fire but never was faced with it myself. Long story short- my parents small ranch was one of the few that were spared, and we quickly became the evacuation point for other local families with a small scale “fire camp” in our back field. After the fires were out, members of my M.A. program and I participated in the cremation recovery team. For me, working in fire is personal.  Realizing that my knowledge in archaeology was of use in the fire realm pushed me into pursuing my career path.

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Because to me archaeology is more than "studying the material remains of past people." Its striving to be relevant and a way to help make positive changes in solving real-world problems rather than being a wealthy person's hobby. Wildland fires we experience today are a part of "normal" now and to me that means gearing up and using archaeology as tool to combat and promote fire.

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I believe in protecting cultural resources for future generations to be able to connect with the past

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=u4ZoJKF_VuA