This summer, we partnered with Rachel Heaton, member of the Muckleshoot Tribe and descendant of the Duwamish people, in organizing a Mount Rainier climb team made up of members of federally recognized tribes to ensure tribal voices – especially of those for whom it is ancestrally their homeland – are represented on it. In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, get to know the climbers, learn how the climb went, and what this historic climb means. Photo by Scott Kranz, WNPF Creative Partner.
Additional links mentioned in the virtual field trip:
🌲 Celebrating Native American Heritage Month in Washington's national Parks: https://wnpf.org/2023/11/01/celebrating-native-american-heritage-month-in-washingtons-national-parks/
🌲 Getting Our People Onto the Mountain: An All-Native Climb of Mount Rainier (Tahoma): https://wnpf.org/2023/07/12/getting-our-people-onto-the-mountain-an-all-native-climb-of-mount-rainier-tahoma/
🌲 REI's "Wild Ideas Worth Living" podcast episode with Rachel: https://www.rei.com/blog/podcasts/all-native-team-climbs-tahoma-with-rachel-heaton
🌲 REI blog featuring the gear used on the mountain: https://www.rei.com/blog/hike/indigenous-mountaineers-climb-mount-rainier
🌲 "The Earth Gym": https://www.wellforculture.com/what-is-indigenizing-fitness
Episode chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:58 Land Acknowledgement and Speakers
03:30 How the climb was put together, key partners
10:18 Climber experience: Gil Adame
14:00 Climber experience: Mercedes Sosa
17:16 What happens during a climb
22:55 Recruiting an All-Native team
27:20 Takeaways from the climb
32:40 Post-climb, how did the public react?
35:40 View of the mountain after the climb
39:19 What's next for the climbers?
41:03 Q&A: How was the relationship with the IMG guides?
43:38 Q&A: Other ways that Rachel is bringing the native community to the mountain
47:07 Other VFTs, Projects we fund, Giving Tuesday 2023