The Fire in Our Hearts

Overview

On British Columbia’s remote Southside, wildfire is not an abstract threat—it is a lived reality. As flames close in on a frontier community, the Cheslatta Carrier Nation and their neighbours face an impossible choice: evacuate, or stay to protect the land that defines them. With limited access and little outside support, the community responds collectively, drawing on Indigenous leadership, cooperation, and generations of knowledge to confront the fire in near isolation. In the aftermath, the burn reveals a long-erased Cheslatta village site, resurfacing a suppressed history just as their response gains wider attention as a model for resilience. But when the flames recede, new constraints emerge—raising questions about the limits of community-led action, and the fragile balance between survival, autonomy, and authority.

Keywords

Cast

Stewart Alcock

himself

Cole Bender

himself

Brad Blackwel

himself

Gary Blackwell

himself

Joanne Brown

herself

Hazel Burt

herself

John Casimet

himself

Ryan Chapman

himself

Walt Cravey

himself

David Eby

himself