Solution to climate change may be ingrained in indigenous stewardship

The Jefferson Exchange

The Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates destroyed by the Palisades Fire is seen in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.(Damian Dovarganes / AP Photo)

The ongoing wildfires in Southern California are making it clear that climate change isn't debatable. But how do we effectively manage our environment and prepare for greater intensity and frequency of severe natural disasters like wildfires? The answer may be in the practices of the past, ingrained in the stewardship of the land by indigenous peoples.

Kasil Willie (Paiute/Pomo/Wintu/Wailaki/Irish) joins the Exchange to discuss the keys to managing the changing climate. Kasil is a staff attorney at Save California Salmon, a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy change and community advocacy for Northern California’s salmon- and fish-dependent people.

California is at a decision point on a number of significant issues that are likely to shape the state’s ability to manage the extremes to come. Solutions may reside within the lands stewarded by California's indigenous tribes.