#75 - Guarina Lopez on Indigenous sovereignty; running, biking, and storytelling on Native land

Social Sport

Guarina Lopez (Pascua Yaqui) is a visual artist and storyteller using photography, film, and writing to share stories of this Native land, the Indigenous people, and the environment. She works at the intersections of Indigenous sovereignty, land and water rights, and colonial abolition. Much of her work is raising awareness about Native history, culture, art, and law as a way to elevate Indigenous stories beyond stereotypes to ground them in contemporary life. Guarina is also a runner, cyclist, and mother to a long-haired skater boy.

Discussed in this episode:

--Guarina’s letter in Trail Runner Magazine, and related discourse

--Dinée Dorame on Social Sport

--Hire Indigenous creatives!!

--NYTimes article, "The Racial Bias Built into Photography"

--White-centering of environmental movement

--Injustice and power dynamics in the biking community

--Women Run the Vote Relay 2021

--Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Quotes:

“What I was seeing from individual Native women cyclists, myself included, was that our relationship to the land was different from that of cyclists who are not Native. We have a different form of deference to the lands that we ride on, or ride with. I wanted to tell those stories.” -Guarina Lopez

“It’s not that we’re not out there, it’s not that we haven’t been on bikes, it’s that our stories have not been fore-fronted. Our stories have not been told. That makes me mad. We’ve been denied the opportunity to tell our stories.” -Guarina Lopez

Follow Guarina and her work:

--Personal Instagram

--This Native Land Instagram

--Native Women Ride Instagram

--Yaqui Rain Runner Instagram

--Modern Natives Personal Regalia Instagram

--Call Me By My Name Project Instagram

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