2 Indigenous wildland firefighters celebrated for lifelong service to communities

On the family trap line near Île-à-la-Crosse, in northern Saskatchewan, Robbie Gardiner learned valuable lessons about hunting, trapping and wildfires.

Gardiner said he dealt with his first fire when he was 12. He's since built a 46-year career in fire management because he wanted to ensure northern Indigenous communities were heard. 

"That's the reason why I'm still here. I did it for my dad and the people who don't have the education to understand," said Gardiner, 67. 

The Métis man has connections to the Métis community of Île-à-la-Crosse and Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation. He speaks Michif and Cree and says it helped him build relationships with the communities.

Gardiner said the lessons elders can offer about the land is invaluable to fire management.

"I stayed north and I stayed in Aboriginal communities; I wanted to continue living that way and better understand it from our elders and share it with non-Aboriginal communities," he said. 

Gardiner is the director of land operations, western unit, for Saskatchewan Pubic Safety. He said he's always enjoyed fighting fires but when he switched to management it was about dealing with people, their emotions, stress and safety. 

It all sank in during a 1993 blaze, when 313 hectares of land were on fire and he had 1,100 personnel to watch over. 

"That's when I realized [that] when I was a basic firefighter I could concentrate on the fire but this time around I had to manage people," said Gardiner. 

Honoured at conference

He was recently honoured at the Wildland Fire Canada Conference in Edmonton along with Harry Spahan, another lifelong Indigenous firefighter.

The pair were selected for the Indigenous Wildland Firefighter Honour and took part in a blanket ceremony on Nov. 2. 

Spahan, a Nlaka'pamux man who has spent 55 years in fire management, 40 years of those with BC Wildfire, said the ceremony was a blessing.

"It was really good thing to be recognized," said Spahan.

Spahan is currently the president of the Interior Salish Fire Keepers Society. 

Spahan has spent many years educating others about cultural burning, an Indigenous practice of burning portions of land to prune flammable underbrush, and helping to research how communities historically burned areas in order to revitalize the practice. 

"My ancestors' perspective, if we look after the land and stuff it will look after us," said Spahan. 

The Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada said both men have been trailblazers in the profession. 

"Both Robbie and Harry have had a wide range of influence as role models, relationship builders, policy influencers and defining the notion that Indigenous practitioners could be considered and accepted as professionals in this field is a legacy not many may know," said Blaine Wiggins, executive director, in an emailed statement to CBC News.

"For those of us Indigenous professionals that currently work in this field, we appreciate the trail that was created for us."