What’s keeping you here?

I keep getting work here. I also love being outside — backpacking, hiking, swimming. I was recently asked about my creative space and, for me, it isn’t a studio or something like that. My creative space is outside. Connecting with nature is one of the most important things that people need to do. People aren’t doing it. You can’t care about the environment if you’re never out in it. Then again, there’s lots of really conservative people in beautiful places. 

What do you think about the outdoor culture of the Pacific Northwest? And what do you think about how it is represented in advertising and media?

In reality, it’s white dominated. That’s obvious. You can’t go on a trail without passing endless white people. That makes it important to me to be on those trails. To be outdoors. 

A critique of the marketing of the outdoors would be that everyone wants to show that they are diverse. In reality, if all you’re doing is putting beautiful Black and brown people as your talent and not as your creatives, then you are being performative. 

I recently got into Black Belt Eagle Scout. I love your music videos with them. What does it feel like to create with other native people?

Effortless. I don’t even have the words. Great isn’t good enough. It’s vital to work with other queer Indigenous people. I have been working on this project called Waveguides. It’s a documentary following six Indigenous women musicians made by a majority Indigenous crew. Everyone has their roots and honors where they are coming from. We are telling these stories that aren’t rooted in trauma. Most non-native storytellers start from trauma when they tell native stories. We do it to ourselves too. “How do I milk my trauma?” That’s why I focus on joy and telling real stories. It’s so simple. It’s Indigenous people working as a team to tell the story of other Indigenous people. It’s visual sovereignty. There’s a lot to unpack, but we are not here to focus on the trauma, we are here to exist. 

Working with KP [of Black Belt Eagle Scout] is amazing. When we took photos for the [forthcoming] Indigiqueer Joy project it was so easy. It was her birthday so I came with presents. I was like, I’m here to celebrate you! We went out to Kukutali on the Swinomish Reservation. It was so effortless to be happy. It feels really good. 

I love the quote on your website from Ruth H. Hopkins: “Sacred sites are Indigenous places of worship, our outdoor cathedrals. In the modern era, they have been consistently targeted for destruction by racist demagogues, extractive industries, and those who are otherwise estranged from their spiritual selves and see only dollar signs.” How do you see that happening around here?

The first thing that comes to mind is using the name Mount Hood instead of Wy’East. The British dude that they named it after never even saw the mountain. Same with Rainier and Tahoma. It feels important to know where you are and talk about it. But it can’t be just a land acknowledgement. 

Portland wants to say they care, but then they offer you a low rate. [People] want to do a land acknowledgment, but they don’t want to pay you. They want to feel good about themselves. They don’t want to feel uncomfortable. We need accountability. 

People demanding water for their cows are exploiting the land. They leave nothing for their children or their children’s children. They leave nothing for the ecosystem. We’re all a part of it, though. I only know how to appreciate that land, how to see its beauty, and make every decision from that connection. 

And to go back to Ruth H. Hopkins, it is not just avoiding the exploitation of the land, it’s viewing the land as a sacred site. I think of how Multnomah Falls has become so overcrowded you now have to get permits. It’s a pit stop. It’s not a place to worship. 

I’ve always loved camping and being outside. I want to throw my phone in the river. A lot of people don’t want to be outside, to be dirty and sweaty all day. It’s not always easy, but I love it so much. 

Too many Black and brown people don’t feel comfortable outside, for good reason. I don’t have a solution for that. Non-Black Portlanders need to recognize how much privilege they carry to be able to be in nature. I would say [we need to] make more space for Black and brown people in the outdoors. 

I asked people on the Indigiqueer Joy project where they felt the most access to joy. Almost everyone said next to the water. So, Black and brown people go outdoors, take up space. You deserve it.