Global Citizenship Education and Smokey Responsibility

Smokey Bear has been associated with forest fire prevention since he was first introduced by the US Forest Service in 1944. From 1947 to 2001, Smokey’s well-known tag-line was, “Remember, only you can prevent forest fires” (in 2001 the quote was adjusted slightly to refer more generally to wildfires). Though I grew up in Canada, I was familiar with Smokey Bear. This was partly due to the influence of US media, partly because of family trips to New England, and partly because Canada also knows a few things about forest fires. But somehow, growing up, I never asked the question: Why is the bear, whose role it is to promote forest fire prevention, named “Smokey”? As the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. So why name the US Forest Service fire prevention mascot, Smokey?