Episode 13: Indi Madar on Building BIPOC Community
“The things that our members and participants share with us, we consider all those things to be really sacred. So we’re not going to share people’s teachings and knowledge, cultural knowledge, with just anyone”
Indi Madar
As the Communications and Community Engagement Lead with Brown Girl Outdoor World (BGOW), Indi Madar knows first hand the barriers to outdoor adventure that many of the women of colour in the BGOW community experience. She joins Valery to talk about what ‘intentional’ needs to look like when building community at the intersection of race, gender, and the outdoors.
In Indi Madar on Building BIPOC Community:
- The glowing passion, and glaring gap, that led Brown Girl Outdoor World founder, Demiesha Dennis, to starting the community
- What it means to be a member of the Brown Girl Outdoor World community
- The joy of learning to downhill ski and ice climb as an adult (alongside other newbie women of colour adventurers!)
- The barriers that keep many racialized people from finding their way to outdoor adventure
- Where the myth of ‘Outdoors equals white people’ came from, and how Indi and BGOW are changing the narrative and the place assigned to Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities in outdoor adventure and recreation
- Why corporate partners interested in building sustainable, long-term partnerships are the only partners BGOW will consider in order to create a safe(r) space for community members
- From breaking down transportation barriers to co-creating self-organized outdoor adventures, how the relationships that started at BGOW events are deepening over time.
Find Brown Girl Outdoor World:
Find Other Episode References:
No One Should Have to Live a Life Without Us
On the Life Without Us podcast, Valery Navarrete shared two seasons of stories about community and connection to inspire more of us to have more “us” in our lives.
Tune in wherever you find podcasts!
Sign Up for Valery’s Newsletter!
Valery’s free, monthly newsletter provides a quick mix of updates on what she is up to and content you can use. Look for it in your inbox on the third Thursday of each month!
