Roam Free Together

Growing up I used to hate camping. Girls camp was like “ugh, fine I’ll go” kind of attitude. I didn’t like not being able to take a shower, being dirty… I was a mini brown “Karen” of living all natural. I grew up near the mountains of Utah and being Native American (Diné/Dakota) you think I would be closer to nature and the world around me. My mom grew up near the Missouri River of the Crow Creek Sioux reservation and my dad camped in the red dirt and juniper trees of Navajo Nation National Forest.

I grew up in suburban Utah. I had to mow lawns and weed gardens. I hated it. I wanted to live in apartments because someone else can fix things and I wanted concrete, not grass. Basically, I was a stupid kid.

Enter 30 something years later. I’ve lived in the deserts of Southern Arizona and the ice cold winters in Alaska. It’s amazing all the things you thought you hated as a kid were actually the things that you crave for… being outside.

I used to go running along the Provo River, under the trees lining the river and the sound of the river roaring by. While in Arizona I renewed my love for swimming, mostly because running made the heat worst. In Alaska I would take my dogs in any direction and find a trail to hike. I’ve driven the Alaskan Canadian Highway or as the locals call it “the Al-Can” 3 times. Camping or staying hotels with my pups and loving it all. As an adult, you begin to see the beauty of life and connecting to the earth. Driving by a herd of buffalo or stoping at a gorgeous blue lake in British Columbia.

So what is all this rambling about, get to the point, Rae. During covid I spent a year, like everyone else, basically in my room, with my pets working from home. Just taking my dogs outside to do their business and that was it. I could see in them as well, they missed going on hikes and trails. While I was at home I would watch YouTubers and Tiktoks of traveling, camping, and van life BUT there’s was something missing, where’s the brown people at?

Literally all the van life’s and van conversion tutorials were either white couples or single white females which there is nothing wrong with that because I want to do what they are doing but literally, I couldn’t find any POC van lifers. I generally watched the single females because I can at least relate to that, being single and having dogs. But the question is why aren’t we, POC, not traveling? Why are we not building amazing vans we can travel over this awesome land? Or maybe we’re scared of the climate of the country, solo traveling and camping? Maybe we don’t have means or privilege of exploring?

I talked to a friend of my mine who is Tohono O’odham (a tribe from southern Arizona) she’s an avid hiker, and she also noticed this the lack of representation in this outside lifestyle and community. She wants to start her own YouTube channel to document where she hikes with her dog and camps. We have a lot of Native American runners on social media, and as a swimmer I didn’t find others who shared my love for the water EXCEPT in the UK. A group called Swim Dem Crew, an inner city swim club of POC. There’s a place for everyone in this world.

I would want to create a safe place for POC to either convert their van and/or explore the country. Especially as someone who is also starting out, if I can do it you can to.

Having a membership based community can help POC to feel safe to ask questions and there IS a community for us to talk about camping, places to go and/or avoid, to encourage others to build a van out even if it’s a 1996 Chevy Astro van and not the common 2000-something Dodge Ram pro master. Also to build relationships with tourist locations, offering fun giveaways, or any company that has products aimed toward this lifestyle and wants our business. Last but not least, learning about the original people of the land they are traveling too. Offering Native American history of the places they visit.

Where does this start? I purchased my first van, yes the 1996 Chevy Astro van, and currently trying convert it and earning money to continue to convert it. Once I’m done, my plan is to travel the Al-Can once again, head to Denali, then head pack to the lower 48 via Canada and head through the Pacific Northwest down to Big Sur and Yosemite National Park, to start.

Truthfully, traveling as a POC is a different experience than our counterparts. Maybe if they see someone who looks like them try, someone else might went to too. Maybe it's exploring your city, your state, the country or even internationally, once covid is over and by reconnecting safely is just that, reconnecting. After all, my ancestors roamed this country and set up camp, maybe it’s time I do too but with a portable potty built in my van.