On March 18th, an air of excitement hung in the rental shop at Mount Aurora SkiLand near Fairbanks as dozens of Indigenous teens and preteens flowed through the rental shop. One by one, they picked up snowboards, boots, and helmets, then proceeded to circle up in the snow outside.
For nearly all of them, this would be their first time on a snowboard. The event of the day, a clinic hosted by Native Youth Outdoors, was made possible by an Alaska Native family’s dream to give back to their community.
For Jody Potts-Joseph, outdoor recreation always served as an essential tool for personal health and wellness. A Han Gwich’in dog musher, guide, and snowboard instructor, Potts-Joseph grew up on the lands surrounding Eagle Village, traveling by dog sled or canoe along her family’s trapline. As she grew older, she learned to snowboard and mountain bike, and credits these sports for keeping her healthy, strong, and focused through her adolescence. But there was a noticeable lack of Indigenous representation in the world of outdoor recreation.
“You don’t see very many people of color or Indigenous people represented in these spaces,” she said. “A lot of it is just lack of access and opportunity.”
As a young mother, Potts-Joseph worked to increase accessibility to snowsports for her children and their peers.
“My kids and I went snowboarding every weekend throughout their high school years,” she explained. “We were pretty much the only Native people up there at SkiLand, but we started helping their friends learn, and pretty soon we’d have big groups of Native kids joining us every weekend.”
This progression and increase in representation on SkiLand’s slopes eventually inspired Potts-Joseph and her kids, Isaiah and Quannah Chasinghorse, to host the first-ever snowboarding clinics for Native youth in Fairbanks in 2021. With the support of private donors and SkiLand, the family hosted a small two-day clinic that would serve as the launching point for their newly formed organization, Native Youth Outdoors.
“We’re more than happy to share the space and time and skill set. Not everyone has the opportunity or gear to go out and try some of these fun outdoor adventures,” said Potts-Joseph. “By sharing these experiences, we hope that it can ignite a fire and a passion in [youth] to where they want to pursue [snowboarding] or just have really positive experiences in the outdoors.”
This year, Native Youth Outdoors enlisted help from an impressive list of elite Indigenous snowboarders to host a bigger clinic, completely free for Alaska Native youth. The event was sponsored by Fairbanks Native Association, The North Face, Smith Optics, and SkiLand. The clinic filled up in a matter of days.
Olympians Callan Chythlook-Sifsof and Liam Gill, internationally acclaimed supermodels Quannah Chasinghorse and Cherokee Jack, and world champion jingle dancer Acosia Red Elk joined Potts-Joseph as instructors, volunteering their time and covering their own travel expenses for the cause. This team of Indigenous instructors created meaningful representation for the young people in attendance.
“When kids see someone that looks like them already accomplished and riding at a high level, it tells them that they can do it too,” Potts-Joseph said. “There’s a comfort level with someone from your background and culture who understands the way that you communicate and see the world.”
As the March sun made its way across a pale blue sky, instructors helped kids warm up, practice balanced stances, and eventually ride down the bunny slope. Spirits were high despite numerous falls in the snow, a hallmark of learning to ride. Kids cheered each other on, helped each other out, and eventually, many rode the entire bunny slope without falling. By the end of the day, most participants graduated from the bunny slope, riding the entirety of Mount Aurora from top to bottom, escorted by instructors and additional volunteers from The North Face.
For Potts-Joseph, seeing her daughter Quannah instructing the clinic was a full-circle moment. After years of investing in her own family’s relationship with the outdoors, it was heartwarming to see Quannah dedicate her own time and energy to pass her passion on to others. And amongst the parents of participants, gratitude was abundant. Terri Cadzow says that her daughter, Jossyln, can’t wait to snowboard again.
“She had the most amazing experience,” said Cadzow. “I’m very thankful for the crew that put on this clinic and supported Indigenous youth, not only spiring them, but encouraging them to do the best they can.”
Moving forward, Native Youth Outdoors plans to obtain an official 501(c)3 status, with an advisory board that will include instructors from the 2023 clinic. Potts-Joseph says that the crew is looking forward to making a positive impact across communities.
“We’re working towards building capacity to offer other clinics throughout the year,” she said. “For my family, the outdoors has been a big part of our wellness, so we’re hoping that Native Youth Outdoors can help others, and be something that will carry them forward in life in a good and healthy way.”
