Hiking to Support Na'ah Illahee Fund

After two years off, this summer I am hiking the western half of the Pacific Northwest Trail, which travels west from Glacier National Park to the Olympic Coast. I approach long-distance hiking not only as an outdoor adventure (though it is that!), but also as an opportunity and responsibility to learn about the land I'm traveling through, and to find ways of supporting local social justice projects there.

As part of my PNT hike, I am raising funds to support Na'ah Illahee Fund , an organization led by Indigenous women. NIF is based in Seattle but works across the Pacific Northwest to facilitate ongoing regeneration of Indigenous communities. They conduct long-term community programs focused on youth, environmental justice, and gender-based violence, among other key issues, and they distribute funding to other Indigenous-led projects. Last spring, they launched the Native Crisis Community Response Fund to respond to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Native people. Beyond their specific programs, I also appreciate that they understand the scope of their work as crossing urban, rural, island, and reservation-based Indigenous communities, and that they explicitly state a capacious understanding of "women" as a category.

I will be grateful for any contribution you are moved to make to support NIF's important work. If you donate $25 or more, I'll be happy to send you a postcard from the trail (if you'd like). I have excellent penmanship and will endeavor to tell you a good trail story! You can also follow my hiking blog for updates along the way.