Who Am I?
My name is Joseph Whitson and I am an non-Native PhD student at the University of Minnesota. My work and perspectives come out of my identity as a white person grappling with what it means to live on, travel on, and benefit from stolen indigenous land as well as acknowledging my own complicity in these issues. I may not be building pipelines through reservations, but as a hiker, a photographer, a brand ambassador for outdoor companies, I was supporting a certain land ethic that contributed to injustices toward Native people. I wanted to create something that would speak to my fellow white outdoors people, to rethink how we represent, interact with, and live on indigenous land. Indigenous Geotags is my way of contributing to that conversation.
I believe that Native voices need to be centered, so while I want to use my experience and this platform in any way I can as an ally, my hope is that in the long run, I can step back. I often see good intentioned white allies hijacking conversations on social media and I want to make sure I’m finding the right balance between using my privilege to push for change but not taking space or opportunities that should be filled by Native people.
Why am I doing this?
This project came out of my dissertation research on the outdoor retail industry. Looking at how the digital marketing campaigns of companies like Patagonia and The North Face, I came to realize that, despite being incredibly important advocated for the environmental and conservations movements, this industry is also complicit in the colonial project of the United States. The aura of public land is so deeply embedded in the outdoor recreation culture that we don't even realize how it erases Native history, ignores overlapping land and resource jurisdictions, and continues to create barriers for indigenous people to exercise their treaty rights and resource sovereignty. So, I decided to create a platform to share these histories and, hopefully, allow people to share their own stories and connections to the land.
If people have questions, comments, or critiques about any of this, please email me!