Federal and state officials turned toward “’indigenous knowledge,” also known as “traditional ecological knowledge,” to help California better prepare for wildfires prior to the recent blazes in Los Angeles County, spending millions of dollars in the process. 

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the National Science Foundation have collectively spent millions on projects intended to extract ancient knowledge from Native Americans to then be applied to mitigate the risk and damages of wildfires. The grants, disbursed between 2023 and 2024, preceded the recent widespread fires in the Los Angeles area. As the fires continue to burn, officials serving California and Los Angeles have faced criticism online for allegedly prioritizing diversity initiatives and other left-of-center agenda items over competency.