November Spotlight: Native Womens Wilderness

Native Womens Wilderness, an organization for the voices of Native American women, is based in Boulder, Colorado. The Feminist Book Club chose this organization for November. Their mission is to inspire and raise the voices of Native women in the outdoors, to encourage a healthy lifestyle grounded in the wilderness, and to educate Natives and non-Natives on the rich beauty and heritage of the ancestral lands.

Founded by Jaylyn Gough, who is from the Diné (Navajo) Tribe in New Mexico, NWW was created out of the frustration of the lack of women of color, let alone a Native Woman, represented in the outdoor industries. NWW aims to be a platform for Native voices, a place to express the love and passion for the Wild, and to provide education of the ancestral lands we all love to explore. Recently, NWW was successful funded 150 care boxes for the Navajo Nation! They were shipped to families in Shiprock and Gallup, New Mexico and Page, Arizona.

Their goals include: promoting women of color in the mainstream advertising campaigns of outdoor retailers, encouraging the celebration of exploring the outdoors, providing education of Ancestral Lands and their People, inspiring women to get outside and enjoy the outdoor realm, promoting a healthy lifestyle within the Wilderness, providing resources for information and community, and encouraging outdoor education and leadership training for women and school-age girls.

You can find NWW on Instagram and Facebook where people share their stories, celebrate together, support one another, and build a community of Native Women who love to explore the wild and sacred lands. One of the main goals of their social media platforms is to change the outdoor stigma of what women should look like in the outdoor realm.

Other ways of assisting the organization include donating that financially support group meet-ups where women can build community while celebrating the outdoors together, fund scholarships for outdoor leadership training for women, and provide scholarships for wilderness camping experiences to school-age girls. You can also shop outdoor gear at their online store.

Rashmila Maiti

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Rashmila likes to read books by/about women/people of color. She prefers fiction to reality. A dog parent and word ninja, she volunteers for non-profits and is multilingual. Favorite genre- contemporary literary fiction.