Resources for Indigenous Peoples' Day

“National parks serve as a microcosm for the history of conflict and misunderstanding that has long characterized the unequal relations between the United States and native peoples. [...] However, national parks might also provide an important arena of understanding and resolution … ”

—Mark David Spence, Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks

Today, we’re celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day! We’ve put together a small sample of our favorite resources, but this is by no means exhaustive—take time today to listen to indigenous leaders on social media and beyond to be sure you’re in the know.

PEOPLE TO FOLLOW

Project 562

This documentary project by Matika Wilbur aims to photograph over 562 indigenous nations in stunning, vivid visuals.

Native Women’s Wilderness

This account shares stories of native women, championing their experiences in nature and beyond.

Natives Outdoors

Natives Outdoors’ Instagram and website is full of a wealth of information about current issues faced by indigenous communities and features stories about outdoor experiences and sustainability.

SOMETHING TO HEAR

All My Relations Podcast

Listen to hosts Matika Wilbur and Adrienne Keene discuss how their relationship to the land, their ancestors, and each other shape their lives. (Pstt—be sure to follow them on Instagram, too!)

SOMETHING TO READ

The Serrano, the Cahuilla, the Mojave, and the Chemehuevi were the original stewards of the land that became Joshua Tree National Park before the arrival of Europeans in the third quarter of the 18th century. Photo via NPS.

Native American Ethnography and Ethnic History in Joshua Tree National Park

This article from the NPS discusses the peoples who called the Mojave home prior to the foundation of Joshua Tree National Park.

The NativesOutdoors Reading List for the Outdoor Industry

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been doing a lot of reading this quarantine, specifically from this reading list that NativesOutdoors released this summer. We highly recommend Dispossessing the Wilderness, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, and There, There.

SOMETHING TO WATCH

Welcome to Gwichyaa Zhee

North of the Arctic Circle, the Gwich’in people fight to protect land and animal from oil and gas development in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; in Utah, indigenous groups are doing much the same.

Welcome to Gwichyaa Zhee from Wondercamp on Vimeo.

MORE PLACES TO LEARN

Before Standing Rock, There Was Alcatraz

In 1969, a group of Native activists occupied Alcatraz island. Their actions set off a wave of direct action that continues to the present day.

Oohosis, a Cree from Canada and Peggy Lee Ellenwood, a Sioux from Wolf Point, Montana moments after their removal from Alcatraz. San Francisco, June 11, 1971. Photo via NPS.

To Manage Wildfire, California Looks to What Tribes Have Known All Along

Learn about what the original stewards of the land in California have long known—there are benefits to cultural burning.

Yosemite National Park’s Wahhoga Roundhouse

Yosemite was home to indigenous tribes for thousands of years before the last settlement was removed in 1969. Learn about the new construction of a roundhouse outside of Camp 4 where the original Wahhoga Village was located. The roundhouse will be made available for the use of tribal leaders for cultural and spiritual ceremonies and stand in memorial for the members of tribal communities that live in the valley long before John Muir first set foot there.