As Canada’s wildfire season intensifies, Indigenous firefighters are mobilizing to protect their communities from both physical devastation and the psychological toll of evacuations.

By May, several First Nations had already faced displacement. James Smith Cree Nation, about 160 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, was evacuated earlier this month due to a fast-moving fire. Last weekend, smoke concerns triggered an evacuation order for Pimicikamak Cree Nation, 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

On Wednesday, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, and Montreal Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan declared a joint state of emergency due to what CBC calls a “rapidly escalating, early wildfire season”, and the Official Opposition joined them in urging the government to declare a province-wide state of emergency. Premier Scott Moe made the call Thursday after thousands of people were forced to evacuate their communities. Manitoba issued its declaration Wednesday “due to rapidly spreading wildfires and extreme fire conditions in northern and eastern Manitoba,” CBC writes.

Across Canada, Indigenous fire crews are expanding their ranks. Arnold Lazare, interim executive officer of the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council (NIFSC), told the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) that 174 Indigenous youth have been trained and certified as Level Two wildland firefighters with funding from Natural Resources Canada. Another 256 are expected to be trained over the next two years. Experts say Indigenous youth fire training programs can be used as a model to prepare civilians in northern and remote regions as fires grow to scorch wider expanses.

NIFSC’s long-term goal is to establish a national Indigenous fire suppression team—a mutual aid system that could deploy to First Nations across the country, Lazare said.

But jurisdictional barriers stand in the way, Lazare said, with no mechanism for provincial agencies to call upon First Nations firefighters. First Nations fall under federal jurisdiction, creating what he calls a “grey zone,” similar to the military.

As a result, trained Indigenous crews in Saskatchewan were unable to assist during recent wildfires, while international firefighters were brought in at considerable expense.

Beyond the immediate physical dangers, wildfires and evacuations have profound mental health impacts on Indigenous communities. Evacuations can be re-traumatizing for Elders who experienced forced removals during the residential school era, as they are often relocated to dormitory-style accommodations reminiscent of those institutions, Lazare said.

“The sad reality is that during an evacuation, we are taking people who would have been children 40 to 50 years ago, who are now Elders, and we’re deporting them from the community.”

Children, too, are affected, as are single mothers or mothers with many children, Indigenous fire and emergency management specialist Michelle Vandevord, director of Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management, told APTN.

“I just received a call from a community firefighter there, asking me to come to the school and talk to our children, because they’re very afraid of fire now.”

Efforts are under way to mitigate these impacts. In Saskatchewan, a federal program provides air purifiers to Elders, enabling them to remain in their homes longer during smoke events, Vandevord said.

And with wildfires being such disorienting events for First Nations, it is helpful when firefighters come from the local community or, failing that, from another First Nation, Vandevord added.

“I think it’s a great idea any time that you can see a first responder in yourself, not having to explain your situation or about your community, and having people responding to your community, who look like you, who talk like you.”