Saxon Thomas
Session at the Sierra Nevada Tribal Summit 2026
Panel: Cultural Fire Stewardship
Monday, October 1910:00–11:00 amHardrock Live
The Cultural Fire Stewardship panel will bring together five experienced fire practitioners from across the Sierra Nevada Bioregion to discuss what it takes to activate community engagement in cultural fire. Each of these leaders bring years of dedication, experience, and knowledge to be able to provide a diversity of perspectives on cultural fire –from fire protection to community health, to tending food, plant, and ecosystems– this is a pivotal moment to embrace fire for our communities.
Twyla PiatoteModeratorNez Perce
Dirk CharleyMono/Yokut
Saxon ThomasNisenan
Matthew MooreIndigenous Futures Society
Sadie HampshireNisenan | Washoe
Hon. Diana AlmendarizMaidu/Wintun/Hupa/Yurok
Biography
Saxon Thomas is a Tribal Council Member of the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe, where he has
helped guide Tribal policy and represent Tribal community interests since 2007. He serves as the Land
and Tribal Culture Resource Director of HUṠWEJ (formerly California Heritage: Indigenous Research
Project), and leads the Tribally-Guided Stewardship Crew, overseeing habitat restoration, Cultural
resource protection, mapping, and land care projects throughout Nisenan Ancestral Homelands.
As a certified Native American Tribal Monitor and Cultural Burn practitioner, Saxon works to ensure that
Indigenous knowledge, Cultural values, and stewardship practices remain central to the care of Tribal
lands and resources. Drawing from both Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) and
contemporary Western land management practices, Saxon helps bridge Indigenous stewardship
approaches with modern environmental conservation efforts. Under his leadership, the Stewardship Crew
implements Culturally-informed land management practices, including habitat restoration, invasive
species management, fuel reduction, and Cultural burning to promote ecosystem health and restoration.