Hey there, I am Alice Lyn, and I am so excited, because we are here at Isle Royal National Park.

Now, some of you may be asking yourselves, why is this such a big deal or even what is Isle Royale?

Well, located in Lake Superior, Isle Royale or Minong, its ancestral name, is the world’s 5th largest lake island.

Part of an archipelago making up 400 smaller islands, this island’s amazing landscape offers more than 205 square miles of pristine nature and is part of the Anishinaabe traditional cultural history.

A little over a year ago, I partnered with James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project.

To support his work on Isle Royale for All.

Isle Royale for All is an initiative designed to help identify and remove barriers for historically marginalize people to access this land.

Together, we’ve brought a group of 8 incredible people from Michigan’s lower peninsula to experience the park, learn some new outdoor skills, and of course, build community together.

Despite the island’s undeniable beauty, Isle Royale remains one of the country’s least visited national parks.

Because being on an island, this park is only accessible by either boat or seaplane.

In fact, traveling here is an adventure in and of itself.

First, we need to make our way up north.

Our group is made up of residents from Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit, and Ann Arbor.

So we’re all meeting here in Lansing for our long journey to the northwest part of the upper peninsula.

But how are we getting there, you ask?

Well, enter the get outside bus.

My name is Michael Leinbach and I’m the executive director of The Get Outside Bus.

We’re a nonprofit.

We work nationwide, but we’re based in the Great Lakes area.

Our whole goal is to make it more accessible to be outside.

That means we need to think about barriers that are cultural.

We also need to think about barriers that are logistical, and we also need to think about cost.

When Alice and James came and asked about this Isle Royale trip, it was such an easy yes.

I’ve also worked a lot with Isle Royale and spent some time on the island, was involved in the wolf moose research there.

I’ve taken multiple youth programs and adult programs to the island, and it’s kind of my favorite place to go myself.

So that made it a pretty easy yes.

I also think that one of the things that’s cool about Isle Royale is we look at it like it’s a really hard place to go.

And it is.

You have to take a plane, you have to take a boat.

It’s a long drive from anywhere.

But being able to get groups out there and show, hey, this is possible, I think opens up all the other trips that you know are easier.

So to have that kind of challenge ahead of us, I think I think was a really cool experience, and I just couldn’t say no.

Plus, I still gotta try and see a wolf.

Between the drive to our pickup site in Lansing and then up to Copper Harbor, most of us have logged 600 miles and over 11 hours of driving today.

So we had worked with our friend John Mueller, owner of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge to arrange a layover day for folks to rest and regroup before the next leg of our journey.

Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is B Corp certified and sustainably operated And it’s a dark sky park, which means that the property is far enough away from light pollution to get clear views of the night sky.

As soon as you arrive here, it becomes evident that this place is designed to help guests truly be present in the nature that surrounds them.

We’re also meeting up with our cinematographer, Alex Miranda, and of course, James Edward Mills.

Primarily my purpose in working with the National Park Service as well as The... National Park Foundation is to try to raise awareness for the least visited national park in the lower 48 United States, Isle Royale National Park.

And I’m really excited about the prospects of being able to Lead a group of People of color.

from a wide variety of different backgrounds to be able to have a positive and hopefully empowering end... enlightening experience in the outdoors.

And my goal, ultimately, is to be able to allow them to come back into their communities and share their experiences with people in their community as well as, hopefully, inspired a new generation of young people, to have the Aspiration to protect and preserve our wild and seating places, especially in our public lands, our national parks.

Among our group are Grant and Chief, 2 community members who agreed to share their experiences throughout the course of our adventure together.

And I love the unique energies that they bring to the group.

All right, so what made y’all say yes to going on this expedition?

My funny answer is Alice.

My actual answer is that it’s hard to say no to go to a place that I’ve heard about, and that’s very special, to international by people in general, Minong, like it literally means the beautiful place.

What could be more tempting than that?

I talked to some of my family and some aunties in my community, and they were like, well, pretty cool to see you on something like this.

One of the biggest issues with, like, spending meaningful time in special places like this.

Get knowing how to get there and having the mentorship and people with you that make it feel grounded in reality.

So it feels like the perfect confluence of events.

I haven’t been camping one in a while.

Um, and by camping, I mean, like, community centered.

I’ve been out by myself.

I’ve camped in my car.

I’ve done, you know, one on ones, but being out at a campground, where, you know, there are folks around you that look like you, that talk similar to you and understand you, was a big draw, but also, I’ve never... I hadn’t even really heard of Isle Royale besides in passing.

You asked me, and so I was like, Oh, it’s color out here.

I’m going.

I’m doing that.

I’m going ’cause I knew I’d be protected.

I knew I’d be, um, like, surrounded by good people, but I knew, like, I would be able to be my full self out in the woods, and I was like, yep, cool.

Okay, so what are you hoping to learn while we’re out on Isle Royale or just, you know, on this trip in general?

I know comfort isn’t going to be a priority, but, um, ways that I can feel like I can do it myself.

Like, I can go out and feel, like, less of an intimidating thing to spend three, four days out in nature, as far as personal within myself.

Kind of in the same similar thing.

I think I’ve gotten comfortable in my, like, you know, blackness and transness.

I know who I am, and so I want to find the uncharted territories in myself again.

I think I’m always learning, but like, yeah, I’m kind of just excited to see, like, who I am out there.

And, like, who I am with you all out there.

Yeah.

What about you?

What are you hoping to learn?

I would echo what Chief said in terms of it being something that I’m capable of doing.

I mean, you think about Isle Royale getting 20,000 people a year, being this deeply important place.

And a special place with tons of bountiful food and medicines and.

I think I’m hoping to learn more about what that pert feels like.

Is everything that you’re hoping to teach or share with the group?

Earlier, I had talked a little about Mishipishu, who is the great underwater panther.

One of the big things about Mishipishu is that copper is... Depending on your teachings, effectively the body of Misha Peter, so, you know, float copper, freely given, in terms of like, those are their scales being shutted off, those are their horns being cutting the tip off.

And copper, therefore, represents this innate connection to the spirit world, but then you get to the point where mining by anishinaabe people reached a certain threshold where it wasn’t feasible to keep mining.

And then you had other people come out, uh, and start making these really deep gouges into the island.

And a decision to stop doing that?

restore it to being a place where Mishipishu can Just vibe.

Or it can be, you know... A sacred being.

I think that’s something I want to share like.

They’re all obviously parallels between.

our stories and the spirit, however you believe in them and ourselves.

So that symbol of reclaiming and coming home, I think, is something.

I want more people to feel and have stories to reinforce for them.

Well, I’m so excited for tomorrow.

The next part of our journey, which will be hopping on that seaplane and actually getting to the island, so we’ve come a long way already.

Um, but I’m, yeah, I’m really excited to experience this with, with both of you and with the whole group that we’re, we’re here with.

I think it’s gonna be a really amazing experience, so... Gear and apparel, and knowing how to use them, can be a huge barrier to making trips like these.

But between the joy trip project and the get outside bus or go bus, we were able to provide everyone with either rentals and even some brand new gear for everyone to keep.

A couple of months before our trip, Each of us received some of our new gear.

But I’ve learned from experience that it’s always a good idea to give everything a try before you really need to use them.

Even issues like blisters might seem innocuous when you’re close to home.

But can end up doing a lot of harm when you’re hiking longer distances.

So we wanted to spend some time on a local trail breaking in and fine tuning our new boots and packs before we got to the island.

Because there’s a pretty broad spectrum of experience levels among the folks on this trip, Micah and his teammate Jaylyn are going to teach the group some basic skills before we head to the island.

Things like how to properly pack and wear your backpack, how to get clean water in backcountry, and an overview of how to use some of the gear will be bringing along with us.

So if you don’t ever have soap and water, the best thing you can do is friction and irrigation for a long time.

That’s your backup.

Um, we will often, when we set up a camp, have a hand wash dromedary.

This is basically like a little sink.

we’ll either have a biodegradable liquid soap or we have these biodegradable um, soap packets.

It’s basically like a little sheet.

You’re welcome to open this, so we can pass it around.

These are pretty sweet.

It’s basically just a little sheet of soap, and then it’s lighter than liquid, and you don’t have to carry it.

Pretty much any water you boil is good to drink.

The only exception is if that water has heavy metals or toxins, which will not be removed by the boiling process.

We will not use chemical treatments on our oil because there’s a moose tapeworm that is resistant to them, which is why we go with method number three, filtering.

We have a gravity filter.

I can pull it out later, but this is basically just a bag that you hang from a tree that just slowly filters water.

Awesome for groups, ’cause you can just fill up a couple bags when you get to camp, and then let it run all the time, and then as soon as it’s empty, you fill it, and you basically just constantly have running water.

You hear that hiss?

You light that gas, and it’s ready to go.

The places these don’t work, extreme cold, high elevation.

And if you compare it to other types of fuel, um, it is lighter for a short trip, but it adds up because this is called essentially like a gas fuel.

You can shake it.

It’s kind of liquidy, but it evaporates really quickly.

There’s also white gas.

White gas is a full liquid fuel.

And what that means is it’s more energy dents.

So it’s heavier on the front end, but I can boil a lot more water out of this bottle.

than I can out of this.

So if you’re going out for more than four or five days.

This, even though it’s heavier initially, will last you longer and way less per day.

After a lovely and very educational day at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, James is cooking up a big meal before most of us turn in.

But being that we are in a dark sky park, there were a few of us who couldn’t resist the opportunity for some stargazing and astrophotography.

You have arrived.

Today’s the day and we’re finally heading to the island.

So we’re piling back into the van to head to Hubble, Michigan, for the next leg of our journey.

I’m pretty nervous about this e- plane.

I don’t like flying in general.

Um, and I’ve heard that the little planes can be a little bit bouncy.

But yeah, I’m excited.

Yeah, I’m also very excited.

I am still, again, very nervous about the cold.

100%.

But it’s all right.

I’m excited.

We should be good.

We got all our gear and all of that, and everybody seems to be in good spirit, so it should be a good trip.

I’m excited.

Yeah.

Now, if you haven’t already picked up on it, one of the biggest barriers to accessing Isle Royale National Park is just getting there.

There are 2 primary destinations on Minong.

Rock Harbor and Ozaagaateng.

Rock Harbor sits on the southeast end of the island and offers amenities like the Rock Harbor Lodge.

A restaurant.

A store, and even fishing charters.

To get to Rock Harbor, you can take the cheaper but slower option, the ferries.

The trips can take anywhere from 3.5 to 7.5 hours depending on the route you take and can cost between 90 and $350.

But there are more options for storage for those interested in bringing items like kayaks or canoes.

But our group is heading to Ozaagaateng, formerly known as Windigo, on the northwest side of the island.

Ozaagaateng doesn’t have quite the same number of amenities that rock harbor does, and believe it or not, it’s even harder to get to.

With the only travel options being seaplane or the ferries out of Grand Portage, Minnesota.

Since we didn’t want to travel from Michigan to Minnesota to get back to a park in Michigan, we’ll be taking the seaplane out of Hubble.

Flight durations are typically 45 minutes to a Ozaagaateng or rock harbor, and tickets can run between $287 one way, or $416 for a round trip.

The seaplane does have weight limits, though, and packs can’t exceed 45lbs, which is an interesting challenge to navigate when you’re also bringing camera gear.

Yeah!

That was cool.

Whoo Yeah!

We made it to Minong.

So excited.

Had fives all around.

First impressions.

Chief, how you feeling?

Uh... We were on the plane over here, so I know you were you were vibing.

So I, I, yeah, I definitely like vibe.

There was a steadiness.

There were times where I just paused and actually just vibe to like.

My surroundings.

Yeah, I knew I was gonna cry and I cried probably less than I thought.

Um, and I am excited to cry again for the next cryable moment.

I think all of these, like, I kind of feel like the lump is always, like, is just staying there.

Like, a month ago, I was in New Orleans, and I feel like New Orleans accepted me, and now I’m here.

accepted me.

I’m like, oh, I can be accepted and in both places... I feel received and welcomed by the land and like a Gitchigami and yeah, absolutely.

Flight in was so beautiful.

Like, I’ve never been over freshwater for so long.

It feels like.

When the island came into view, it was like a weirdly emotional moment for me of... Like, all these different pushes and pulls of, like, there are some people in my life that I know can never come here, or it would be very challenging to come here.

Even as we were walking up from the dock, I kept, like, noticing all of these really important plants that, People in my community are always looking for plants that carry our teachings to try and restore that knowledge with youth.

being literally surrounded by those plants everywhere you go is... Minong’s a good name.

It’s a really good name.

Yeah.

Well, the next step for us is to go get all of our stuff, go to the campsite.

Learn in real time how to set up my new tent, so you might, you’re gonna help me out with that.

And then just kind of get settled in and start to experience Minong before our trip tomorrow, where we’re gonna really be putting some of our backpacking skills that we learned to the test.

So are y’all y’all ready to go?

Ready.

Awesome.

ready.

All right, let’s go.

Let’s do it.

So welcome to Isle Royal National Park.

As you explore the good place, what choices will you make to help Isle Royale stay wild?

The decisions you make while here will shape everyone’s experience as well as the island around you.

Everything from the smallest rock to the largest moose antler is protected, so take only pictures and leave what you find.

Now that we know some basics about how to cure for ourselves and the island, we’re going to go set up camp and start enjoying the good place.

I was like, how quickly did you get set up?

I’m going to swear, just like you walked in, go like, look.

This is my 11 year old tent.

Are you getting this?

I’m getting it.

Rainbow trout.

Mm hmm.

You threw it back?

Yeah.

No, he placed it gently back in the water.

It was strong.

Yeah.

I was surprised at how strong it was.

How big?

It was probably like... It has been a long journey, but an amazing one so far.

It is still light out, but believe it or not, it’s actually getting pretty late, so I’m gonna tuck in, because tomorrow, we have our hike out to Hugginin, and we’re gonna have to put our backpacking skills to the test.

So I’m really excited, but I want to make sure I’m rested.

So, we’ll see you tomorrow morning, and, uh, good night.

Good night.

Do you want me to do it again?

Good morning.

Good morning.

So even if y’all are talking loud, that is, like, keeping it weird, yeah.

Is that good Micah?

Yes, I’m taking that.

Okay, great.

Okay, part 2 We’ve got our gear on, we’ve got our trekking poles, and we are ready to do our hike out to Hugginin Cove.

How are y’all feeling right now?

How are your packs feeling?

How you feeling in your bodies, your mind?

Where you at?

Yeah, I feel good.

Um, I had to have a little change in my pack last night because, or this morning.

I switched gear, and so I had to re-engage some of the... packing skills that I learned back when we were in Keweenaw But, um, I did end up being cold last night, but it was, it was, um, a trial and error, and so I know what to prepare for.

I ask questions like, I really hoped I would, you know, feel brave enough to ask the questions, and so, yeah, I’m excited to see what the cove has for us.

Yeah, yeah, it’s all data, right?

And it kind of build on.

We learn and yeah absolutely.

What about you, Grant?

How you feeling?

I’m feeling good.

I’m really excited.

Everywhere here has been so beautiful, but the trail we’re going to be going on, it’s going to be especially beautiful along the creek.

Like Chief, I had a lot of questions for a lot of the different experts in our group, everything from Malik with his skills in birding.

Rachel with her skills in like mushroom identification, and then Micah and Jaylyn have been so helpful with figuring out like my shoes and my pack and ways to do my tent better.

So I feel like I’m a lot better equipped just in general in a fun way.

Awesome.

But I’m really excited.

Yeah, I feel like I’ve learned a ton in the last few days too, and I feel better equipped now than I would have a couple days ago.

So I’m really excited.

And let’s go start our the next part of our adventure.

Okay.

Roll out Roll out Sydnie, how are you feeling halfway into our Huginnin?

I’m just trying to take in everything around me as I’m walking.

I feel like I’m paying a lot of attention to my feet more so.

I don’t want to trip or anything, but, um, those moments where we get to actually, like, sit down and talk and just rest for a second.

It’s really nice to, like, look around.

I think we’re doing really well.

Yeah, I think that energy levels are high and I’m really loving the fact that it’s a gorgeous day.

So, Grant, how are you feeling right now, though, now that we’re halfway to Hugginin I have had so much fun.

It’s almost kind of a bummer that we’re halfway there because I keep seeing new plants and talking about new things with folks.

I guess I’m more of a longer hiker than I thought because I’m like, yeah, we got this.

I’m feeling good?

Um, my hips are a little sore, but it’s because I was overly adjusting and I didn’t need to.

But yeah, I feel good.

I’m excited.

I did mentally think that we were more than halfway, so I’m like, okay.

Um, but yeah, I’m I’m excited for the 2nd half and seeing what it looks like and hopefully we see a moose as we round the corner there.

Alice, how are you feeling now that we’re almost there?

feeling really good.

My.

Body feels a little tired but not too much.

It doesn’t feel debilitating.

And I’ve just been getting so much joy from doing this hike in this beautiful place, but with these amazing people.

the way that being out in nature and trips like these where we have to take care of each other, you know, help each other stay safe and healthy.

It just accelerates and deepens the ways that we build community and camaraderie and friendship.

And so I think experiencing.

those bonds being developed while we’re out here has been, um, a huge gift and any discomfort that I might experience while hiking, uh, is definitely offset by just the pure joy that we’re having out here.

So.

So I’m really, like, proud of everyone’s helping each other out and like how good the morale is and then I’m like, looking forward to what the team looks like at the end.

I’m sure it’ll be like grow greater, greater every day we’re here.

A little bit tired, sweaty, but good.

I am in great spirits, and I’m super excited to soak my feet in the water when we get there.

Wow, behind the scenes, Alex, in action.

I am feeling so proud of myself and everybody.

This is so cool.

So I’m very excited to get to our campground, but I’m soaking it all and so it’s really, really fun.

The ancestors of this land is holding me together.

And I’m glad they’re here.

I feeling great.

I have awesome grades.

Check out the hair.

My knee is hurting a little, uh, sore, but not hurting, but I am enjoying this beauty of nature.

I’m feeling good.

I think the Hugginin Cove loop on Isle Royale is one of the, like, showcase trails.

It’s not a ton of miles, but you get to see some of the up and down, some of the different ecosystems, some of the different wildlife, and it’s just cool to get to kind of see that much of the island over the span of time that we’re walking.

Raul, we’re halfway there.

How are you feeling?

I’m feeling great.

Hhahahaha Even for experienced adventurers, backpacking can be an ongoing learning journey, and there are likely to be a few missteps.

There’s a lot that goes into preparing for a backpacking trip, but for filmmakers and other media storytellers, there’s a whole other level of preparation and logistics to account for.

Like workarounds for charging equipment when you don’t have access to electricity, and the added weight of camera gear.

Now we got... Houghton, first part of the island... hiking into the island.

So that’s what I’m gonna put into that bag that James is working.

34.

Amazing.

Yeah, 34 pounds.

I think I told Alice I was coming in at 35.

So this is your whole kit?

The camera tables have turned.

Alex, you have come through with your 2 pet cameras on a backpacking trip.

What has been your experience so far in filming a backpacking trip like this?

It’s a very unique experience.

A lot of challenges.

with filming in environments like this, uh, you know, we really have to embrace what Minong gives us and that means that we have to adapt to Minong.

What has been the hardest thing on this trip for you so far?

Well, there’s definitely more physical exertion.

Filmmaking is very physical as it is.

But hiking 4 miles, 8 miles round trip.

And that’s not counting the other days of filming.

So filming for miles, literally.

It’s pushed me in really good ways and I’m.

I’m really excited to Film something creatively that that looks stunning and that takes a lot of energy and focus and determination, perseverance.

This is cool.

Color out here’s awesome.

Let’s go.

Thank you, Sydnie.

Sydnie, can do this without Sydnie.

Yes, they did.

Because today, we’re freaking doing it.

This is our camp.

Here’s the view.

Spectacular.

We made it here to Hugginin Cove.

It is so beautiful.

We’re about four miles from where we started.

It was a beautiful hike, but it also, it was not easy.

I know I’m tired.

I’m ready to eat some dinner real quick and just go crawl in my tent and get a good night’s sleep.

But how are y’all feeling?

I feel very proud of myself.

I feel proud of everybody.

I felt like this is the safest hike I’ve ever done.

Um, like knowing that we’re 4 miles into backcountry on an island.

Hour by plane off of.

Mainland of Michigan, it’s very remote.

And I don’t feel scared to be out here.

And so that feels good.

I’m feeling so good.

Like, the latter half of the hike was a little bit harder.

Uh, I think it got like I shared some weight with other folks and I was like, okay, well now I know my limits in terms of how much weight I can carry and not get cranky.

I’m surrounded by these people that have me.

I’m surrounded by like, this landscape that feels like it’s guiding me somewhere.

And then when I get to that somewhere, like, it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in my life, some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever been around in my life.

I know I’m going to sleep really well.

But after that, when we wake up tomorrow, we’re just gonna spend some time really immersing ourselves in this beautiful place, spend some time exploring flora and fauna, keep having good conversations, having good snacks.

Yeah, spending some time really connecting to this island in an even deeper way.

So I’m really excited to do that with y’all.

I mean... Yeah.

We’ll, uh, we’ll see y’all tomorrow.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We’ll do this.

We outside.

Right there?

Okay, yeah, that’s good.

All right.

Ready?

One, two, three, four, five.

Is this better, can you hear me clearer now?

Just trying to keep it.

Yeah.

We all do it.

No, yeah.

You got to join in, Grant.

Yeah, if it going water... Got to join in, so we can, like, satellite.

Don’t lead back too far.

All right.

Okay.

Being in a place that hasn’t always been easy to get to, and feeling this kind of abundance in every sense of the word, like every, like, there are abundant plant medicines here.

and being able to show things to people and hear how excited they are, like, the abundance that comes from that, like, and that’s a model that I’m trying to fit into my life, that we are collectively already abundant.

and what can grow from here.

So I think this has been a really, I feel like it’s really filled up my spirit in a good way.

Yeah.

During the summer months, Minong offers so many goodies for foragers, from apples, mushrooms, berries, and nuts.

And as for the fauna, you’d be hard pressed not to spot any of the island’s permanent animal residents while you’re there.

Whether it be a river otter, a fox, or some of the larger locals.

And thanks to the relocation project facilitated in 2018 by the National Park Service, you may even spot a wolf.

It’s a really cool gift to be able to share some of the culture of the land, even if I don’t know this Aki exactly.

I can.

share little pieces of the beings here, and the, like, spirit world when people are interested, and everyone has been interested, and excited to know about, and try and integrate the culture of the land.

Even the way we’ve been, like, moving between using Isle Royale and Minong to talk about these different ways that we make sense of the world, I think has been really special.

One of the most important things I’ve been taught is that land has a culture.

Everywhere I go that isn’t home.

I’m a visitor.

And one of my responsibilities is to, at the very least, be a good visitor.

Like you would for anyone hosting you in their home.

You know, at least try and pick up on other things they prefer, like, bring a nice gift, talk about things that let them shine.

do the games and activities that they can share with you that you might not play or do anywhere else?

For many Native Americans, relationships to national parks can be complicated.

While they might be able to visit these lands along with the rest of the public, the protected status of national parks can often mean that indigenous people are restricted from engaging in traditional practices, their people have had for 100s, if not 1000s of years.

There’s this sort of created pristine wilderness.

especially thinking about Minong and sleeping bear, and a ton of other national parks, pictured rocks.

They have never not known indigenous people.

And so there’s, like, a conspicuous absence.

Knowing that Grand Portage Band people, are increasingly getting a say.

On naming, and on some uses.

But not when it comes to overall control of the land and the ability to live here full time and make comprehensive decisions about what the land is asking for.

as the people that have spent the most time with her, and have the best ear to hear her.

So there’s, like, a funny feeling in your gut that comes up of, like, This place is so special and... We’re really lucky that Grand Porters people are... So open to and excited about people feeling how beautiful this place is.

There’s that history and an ongoing history there, you got a hold in your stomach.

And I don’t think it has to stop this experience being joyful, but I think it is something... That it reminds me to live more kindly, everywhere I go, like, everywhere I visit.

In a way that feels hard, but good.

People have been coming to Minong long before it was designated as a national park.

Minong and the waters immediately surrounding the archipelago are a significant part of the Anishinaabe’s traditional cultural history, and were part of the Grand Portage band of Lake Superior Chippewas ancestral lands For the Grand Portage Band It is a traditional cultural property where they connect and practice their traditional heritage that is included hunting and trapping, maple sugaring, fishing, plant gathering, and spiritual practice.

Thinking about how For black people, folks of the diaspora, who are indigenous to somewhere, but it’s a lot harder for folks of the diaspora to know exactly where they’re indigenous to outside of just an area in a continent.

you know, we’re here, are there, the descendants of enslaved Africans are here.

And we’re also here on land that has been stolen from indigenous folks to the folks who are indigenous to this land.

And so as... Folks who are descended from the African diaspora are working to restore severed ties to nature, are building a relationship to nature, learning how to be in right relationship with nature.

It’s really important for us to continue exploring what Afro indigenous solidarity looks like so that we can support each other and learn from each other.

I think it’s so important to make sure that we’re weaving indigenity into how we are building our relationships to nature, how we are stewarding environmental justice and conservation work.

Really, like, I will always talk about how our liberation is rooted in nature.

We got to freedom, when nature, we were in nature, before, you know, we were oppressed, and we will... you know, find it again in nature, uh, in some ways.

And so... Even if it’s in our backyard having a cookout, that’s liberation out in nature.

Recognizing, I think it’s been really beautiful to feel and see and integrate the teachings that our black neighbors bring us on ways to live kindly, especially in, like, disruptive soil in urban areas.

Like, I don’t know what the future is, but it is fundamentally black and indigenous.

Yeah, absolutely.

And yeah, just ways that we are able to be our full authentic selves out here.

You know, you were saying before, we’re not having to compartmentalize be aspects of being, you know, I’m bi or queer.

Either definition works for me.

not having to put that part of me in a box or being multiracial black in this box over here or being.

A lover of nature and outdoorsy in its own separate box, these things are all, are all intertwined and beautifully braided together.

That’s been, I think, another really moving part for me and very healing part for me on the work that I get to do, the trips I get to do, and especially this trip, with y’all, and so many other folks on this group, who are bringing their full selves, and, you know, particularly bringing their queerness into their experience here, as well.

My queerness is so rooted in nature.

and say with my blackness.

Like, I, I, I know myself because I know nature and I, the more I know nature, the more I know myself.

When I really remembered or did research again on, um, like the seahorse and how the seahorse mail is like, yeah, I’m gonna have some babies.

I was like, me, you know, as someone that wants to be a birthing body.

I’m like, but also I present masculine, and I, you know, I do if I identify with masculinity or, you know, manhood, I guess in some fashions, I don’t... need to be in the cisman, you know, identifying category, but masculinity feels a little bit more, um, closer to me.

I don’t know.

I lost my I did lose my thought.

You know what I’m saying?

Yeah, it’s good.

Yeah, listen, nature’s Nature’s queer.

Nature is queer.

Yeah, I love that.

And also, like, I’m... If you lost your train of thought, it’s a pro and a con because you had me about to tear up on camera.

I work with some really cool kids in my neighborhood, and they have different levels of, like, cultural support, like, community and family support, and that gets more intense, uh, when you have... Like, queer stuff coming up, and parents that aren’t as familiar with what that looks like.

But the thing, I’m always able to come back to telling them is that the land already knows who you are.

You don’t need to explain anything to her.

She already knows you belong with her.

Like the one place you can be.

No masks.

No performance, no code switching.

Just you.

That’s all she wants.

I think there’s other threat of like... binarism and like the the assertion of a binary onto a lot of different countries.

When in reality, you look at almost every culture that we know of has always had some level of complexity when it comes to gender.

In Anishinaabe tradition, and in the language, like, Ikwe and Inini, like, woman and man are part of a larger system.

Like, you don’t just define womanhood by manhood, like in opposition.

Like, when you’re missing all of the genders between and beyond, you lose contacts for what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be a man, and what it means to be, you know, 2 spirit in any of the many ways that exist.

And what it means to be trans and queer and bisexual.

Like all of them, like.

I feel like I can be my, like, bring my blackness, my transness, my queerness, and be in nature.

I don’t have to, like, separate the two worlds.

Part of the conversations that we get to have, you know, as we’re sitting in groups is, you know, like, how do we get to do this after we leave here?

If we wanted to, even in Grand Rapids, or on Lake Michigan, go and sit on the beach late, late at night, some of the places they close the park.

Some of the places to be there, it is not on a bus route.

And if we’re talking about people from the neighborhoods I’m from, And we were talking about my mom, if we’re talking about my sisters who don’t drive that rely on public transit.

who rely on, you know, goodwill and, you know, places like that.

A lot of the resources that they have in order to connect back in nature are stunted.

Thank you so much.

Like I said, I’m, I’m trying not to, I’m trying not to cry on camera.

But thank you.

Thank you for sharing, and teaching, and learning from and with one another.

Um, it’s just, I can’t tell you how much of a gift it is, so... Very, very mutual.

Yeah.

Appreciate y’all.

My conversation with Grant and Chief has helped me process some of what I’ve been feeling ever since we landed here in Minong.

I think back about the first time that I heard of Isle Royale National Park, which was probably almost 20 years ago, and having some friends who had come here, and hearing about all of the... hearing about the terrain, and hearing about all of the skills, the outdoor skills that they needed to get here, let alone the resources, but just the knowledge on how to come here.

And not only did visiting Isle Royale or Minong feel impossible, it felt like it would have been intolerable, or it felt, like it would, it just felt off putting to me, because I didn’t believe that I had, I would ever have the outdoors knowledge, the knowledge of backpacking, the knowledge of the gear, I would need, the physical and mental stamina it would take to spend time here.

And so being here now, I mean, I’m certainly I’m proud of myself, and I’m just... Even more encouraged by some of, by this project, and by some of the work that we’re doing with color out here, because if not for the support and gear and resources, that the Joy Trip project is brought, that the Go Bus has brought, the skills that I’ve learned with friends and community over the years, who I felt safe learning those things, those skills with, I would never have imagined myself here, or if I did imagine myself here, I would have imagined myself being miserable and woefully unprepared.

I’m especially grateful for how I’ve learned to feel like I’m worthy of being here.

Sorry, I’m gonna cry.

Again.

And I’ve learned so much.

about this land from this land, and, uh, from the amazing people who have brought their full authentic selves.

Yeah.

So, like I said, language, like words such as gratitude.

Um, Just don’t do it justice.

It’s clear that the way Minong has held us these past few days has been transformational for me and for our group.

It’s our last night on Minong, and while I’ll admit that I am looking forward to a shower.

It’s going to be hard saying goodbye to the island and to these people who I’ve built community with over this past week.

But we have a long track back to the seaplane tomorrow, so it’s time we all get settled in and get some rest.

Oh, you’re gonna have to get even lower.

Wait, please just... Please wait.

I’m sorry.

I should be helping you being more supportive.

I can only do this.

Hello.

Oh, there it is.

Yeah, I see.

All right.

It’s all about the little stuff.

It’s gonna be really hard to leave this place.

It’s just, it’s been so magical.

It won’t be the last time I’m here, so... For our very last night together, our group is staying in Marquette, Michigan, so we can grab a shower, get some rest, and have a nice meal that hasn’t been dehydrated before we embark on the last leg of our journey home tomorrow morning.

I’m just so grateful to y’all because these trips really don’t, these, these trips are made special because of the people that come and the community that we built together and the way that we came together to support each other.

So I just want to thank y’all so much for everything.

Thank you, Alice Thank you.

And for, you know, my new trail name and all the laughs and all the support.

So yeah, cheers.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Since we’ve gotten back to Marquette and returned from Minong, a number of people have reached out to me on the phone, via text, just to ask me how my experience has been, and I still don’t know if I have the words.

The experience was so incredible.

The land was unbelievably breathtaking, and what I think really made this experience so special are the people who came on it, the way that we became a community, and such a short period of time.

The way that we were taking care of each other, just working to support folks who weren’t always feeling great, making sure everybody was fed, sheltered, comfortable, safe.

It was a really beautiful thing to see grow out of this experience.

I’m just so grateful to partnerships with the Joy Trip project, with the Go Bus, that helped make this as accessible as possible.

Isle Royale or Minong may never be easy to get to, but it is absolutely worth it.

And having opportunities to go there, experience that land, and connect with the people you go with, is beyond worth the adventure that it takes to get up there.

Because what they say about Minong is really true.

It is absolutely the good place.