Remote spatial analysis lacking ethnographic grounding mischaracterizes sustainability of Indigenous burning regime

Abstract: Scientific research that purports to evaluate Indigenous fire regimes in the absence of ethnographically contextualized ecological data runs risk exacerbating blame game and providing evidence support distorted narratives advanced by anti-Indigenous advocates. Spatial analysis scars territories can be an effective tool for characterizing cultural terms distribution frequency, especially when qualified linkages different local ecosystems. A recently published article drew on scar mapping from satellite imagery assess anthropogenic frequency Pimentel Barbosa Land, Central Brazil. The authors use their findings characterize A'uwẽ (Xavante) as unmanaged a model unsustainable cerrado resources. In this article, we discuss Aguiar & Martins's recent paper light our long-term hunting with arguing hunters do burn according established protocols, manage conservationist purposes, not cause environmental degradation burning.