The Fire in Our Hearts

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.

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

Monika Eriksen herself

Jessica Gessel herself

Metadata from the source database.