Photos from the 2018 bicycle film tour from Bellingham, WA, to Portland, OR, with support from the Gwich’in Steering Committee, the Sierra Club, and Patagonia
In the summer of 2019, I took my film and We Are The Arctic book on the 6th annual bicycle tour from San Antonio to Houston, Texas. Why Textas? Since the provision to drill the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge passed in Congress, we thought it was important to:
- Deliver a broad comment from the public opposing the drilling to all oil industry corporations in Houston, Texas (ex. BP, Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips, Kinder Morgan, SAExploration)
- Enhance and invest in existing indigenous-led activism in Texas by creating a more cohesive narrative around public lands and fossil fuels
- Send a broad message to the oil industry that any attempt to drill the Refuge will face substantial public opposition
I had the honor of having a Gwich’in representative join me on this tour. Together, our goal was to build a strong community of people who stand in solidarity with the Gwich’in nation to defend the Arctic.
Public event schedule
These are public venues we hosted in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.
We spoke at multiple venues, drawing powerful parallels and connections between the Arctic and Texas. These events were free and included:
- Land acknowledgement
- Q&A with the Gwich’in representatives
- Gwich’in Women Speak film screening
- We Are the Arctic book signing
ROUTE: 259 miles on a bicycle
From 2014 to 2019, I have toured by bicycle about 3,000 miles from Seattle to San Francisco (2014), Washington D.C. to Bar Harbor, Maine (2015), Boston to Bar Harbor (2017), and Bellingham, WA to Portland, OR (2018). In 2016, I toured in Hawai’i and Oahu.
My film project gained momentum, and I had the privilege to become one of 25 authors of a book called We Are The Arctic. With stunning images of the coastal plain, the book showcases a fascinating array of diverse voices, including a Gwich’in elder, a young activist, writer Terry Tempest Williams, and former president Jimmy Carter. The book aims to reach Americans of all walks of life to form strong public support for the Arctic.
The 2019 Bicycle Film Tour was sponsored by the Sierra Club in collaboration with the Gwich’in Steering Committee. Gear donated by Liv Cycling and Patagonia, signers of the CEO Outdoor Equity Pledge.
