Over the decades, the political environment in both Saskatchewan and Canada has changed in the area of settler and state-led fire management. There has been steady and incremental movement toward the use of prescribed burning as a viable tool for wildfire mitigation, risk reduction and ecological restoration.

The legal environment has also been changing in the area of Aboriginal title and inherent rights case law which continues to solidify Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination, Aboriginal title and inherent rights.

As a result of these significant changes, Indigenous Peoples in Saskatchewan and across Canada are better positioned to advance Indigenous-led fire stewardship specific to their community or group’s rationale, goals and management objectives.

Nevertheless, more work can be done by the Government of Saskatchewan, other provincial/territorial governments and the federal government toward full adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action.

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