“In the indigenous community, if we don’t speak up, if we don’t fight, we die. We become erased.”
The travel landscape may be changing; however, our collective love of adventure will never waiver.
Through the events of the last few years, we’ve remained committed to making the most of your journeys. Be it staycations, a visit to a nearby city, or a trip around the globe, we’re here to serve you.
We still believe in the power of experiencing new things and celebrating what makes us all unique. Therefore, we honor that love of travel with new episodes of our podcast, Let’s Go Together, which highlights how travel changes the way we see ourselves and the world.
In the first season, our pilot and adventurer host, Kellee Edwards, introduced listeners to diverse globe-trotters who showed us that travelers come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. From the first Black woman to travel to every country on Earth to a man who trekked to Machu Picchu in a wheelchair, we met incredible individuals. Now, in our second season, we are back to introduce you to new people, new places, and new perspectives.
On this episode of Let’s Go Together, Edwards sits down with Corinne Rice-Grey Cloud, an educator, activist, and journalist, to discuss her work in diversity and inclusion for indigenous voices and what to consider when traveling to indigenous spaces.
“In the indigenous community, if we don’t speak up, if we don’t fight, we die. We become erased. Our voice is easily dismissed,” Rice-Grey Cloud noted in her conversation. “I can’t tell you how many times I will go into a workplace to talk about whatever issue I’ve been asked to speak on, and I have to start with, ‘We are still here.’ I have to start with, ‘No, we’re not all gone.'” She further emphasized, “They like to say, ‘Oh, we thought we killed you all,’ and I’ve had someone say that to me before.”
When asked how non-indigenous people can be more mindful about interacting with indigenous culture, Rice-Grey Cloud explained, “The first thing I tell people is you have to recognize that there’s no such pan-indigenous culture as native culture. There are 573 federally recognized tribes and additional state-recognized tribes. Moreover, there are tribal nations that never had ‘paperwork’ submitted to the federal government where they are recognized as a tribal nation but still hold cultural teachings, creation stories, and languages that are all different from each other.” She added, “This understanding is sometimes eye-opening to those who lack that knowledge in their early education.”
Perhaps most importantly, Rice-Grey Cloud noted that some locations are not meant for travelers. “It’s also crucial to remember what is sacred may not be meant to be seen,” she cautioned.
Interested in hearing more advice from Corinne Rice-Grey Cloud? Listen as she shares insights on Let’s Go Together, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Player.FM, and various other platforms where podcasts are accessible.
