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Indigenous Fire Stewardship, Dioramas, & Ecology in Action

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Step inside the exhibition-making process at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), where immersive dioramas bring a four-stage fire cycle to life in our latest video. This behind-the-scenes look shows how artists, designers, and scientists collaborate to tell stories of land, ecology, and care within OMCA’s exhibition, Good Fire: Tending Native Lands.

Good Fire explores how Native communities in Northern California have long used controlled fire, or cultural burning, to care for the land and sustain traditions. Developed with Native fire practitioners, artists, and ecologists—including Frank Lake, Karuk Research Ecologist and Tribal Liaison—the exhibition brings together Indigenous knowledge, science, and storytelling.

Discover how fire can support healthy ecosystems, strengthen communities, and offer a different way of thinking about California’s fire future.

Good Fire: Tending Native Lands is on view through May 31, 2026—don’t miss it!

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