ALMOST NOWHERE: PROBLEMATIZING THE EXCLUSIVITY AND COLONIALITY OF AMERICAN WILDERNESS AND THRU-HIKING by NIKKI COX A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Anthropology and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2019 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Nikki Cox Title: Almost Nowhere: Problematizing the Exclusivity and Coloniality of American Wilderness and Thru-Hiking This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Anthropology by: Philip Scher Chair Lamia Karim Core Member Maria Escallón Core Member Sarah Wald Institutional Representative and Janet Woodruff-Borden Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2019. !ii © 2019 Nikki Cox !iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Nikki Cox Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology June 2019 Title: Almost Nowhere: Problematizing the Exclusivity and Coloniality of American Wilderness and Thru-Hiking American wilderness is constructed as a space free from human contact. We know objectively this cannot be true: humans have relationships with landscapes and cultural systems of meaning and significance for the outdoors. It is through investigating the origins of American public lands and the reverence frequently practiced for the outdoors in American culture that we can come to identify the systems of exclusion that police the outdoors. Looking specifically at the example of thru-hiking and the identity categories of race, gender, and class, it becomes clear the intersections at which the privileged few gain access to these pristine and profound places while others do not. Moreover, by exploring these systems on can deny the universalized and dominant narrative of the outdoors, instead recognizing the diversity of experiences and realities of human engagement with landscape. Ultimately, this work suggests that by being more representative, accessible, and inclusive public lands, and the agencies which manage them can be more equitable to the public they serve. iv! CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Nikki Cox GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene California State University, Northridge DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology, 2019, University of Oregon Master of Science, Folklore, 2017, University of Oregon Master of Arts, Anthropology, 2015, California State University, Northridge Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology, 2013, California State University, Northridge AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Anthropology Gender and Women’s Studies Environmental Studies Religious Studies PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Youth Engagement Strategy Program Manager, Willamette National Forest, United States Department of Agriculture, Resource Assistants Program (June 2018−June 2019) Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, (June 2016− ) Tutor to Collegiate Athletes, Lane Community College, (October 2015− June 2018) Research Assistant, University of Oregon, (February 2016− June 2017) After School Science Instructor, Treetop Academics, (September 2015−2017) !v Graduate Research Fellow, University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, (September 2015−June 2016) Instructional Student Assistant, California State University, Northridge, Department of Anthropology, (February 2014−December 2014) Day to Day Sub, Glendale Unified School District/ Burbank Unified School District, (September 2014−June 2015), GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Folklore Summer Research Grant, Folklore Flags, University of Oregon, 2017 Folklore Summer Research Grant, Women Who Hike, University of Oregon, 2016 Graduate Student Association Research Grant, Backpacking as Spiritual Pilgrimage 2016 Promising Scholar Fellowship, University of Oregon, 2015 Keith Morton Award for Outstanding Student of Cultural Anthropology, CSU Northridge, 2015 Michael Schoenecke Travel Grant, Static Femininity: Representations of Gender and the American Family in American Horror Story: Murder House, Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, 2015 Bess Lomax Hawes Fellowship, Tangible Communitas: A Folkloric Investigation of the Los Angeles Wisdom Tree, CSU Northridge, 2014 1st Place, Session 7, 18th CSUN Research and Creative Works Symposium Tangible Communitas: A Folkloric Investigation of the Los Angeles Wisdom Tree, CSU Northridge, 2014 Nancy Sharon Piece Travel Scholarship, Tangible Communitas: A Folkloric Investigation of the Los Angeles Wisdom Tree, CSU Northridge, 2014 vi! PUBLICATIONS: Cox, Nikki. “Tangible Communitas: The Los Angeles Wisdom Tree, Folklore, and Non- Religious Pilgrimage” In Western Folklore. Winter 2018. Cox, Nikki. “Static Femininity: Representations of Gender and the American Family in American Horror Story: Murder House” In Reading American Horror Story. Rebecca Janicker, ed. Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland Press, 2016: 66−84. !vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not be possible without the kindness of those who were willing to share their stories with me, provide me guidance, and correct my privileged ignorance. Equity work is never an easy process, and it takes a lot of stumbling to grasp how to be a good advocate and ally. I am not there yet, but all I do know I owe to those who were brave and willing to be vulnerable, sharing their own experience and realities so that I have a more inclusive picture of what it means to be on American public lands. I have to thank those who have supported me through the tumultuous reality that is graduate school. I am endlessly grateful to those with whom I have grown close. Family is not ruled by bloodline, but by loyalty. I could not have done this without the loyal souls who were compassionate, supportive, and generous with their time. I must thank my mentors and advisors. First, Sabina Magliocco, whom without I would not have gotten to the University of Oregon. I so admire and respect her contributions to the field, but also her immense support. Suzanne Scheld, who in my freshman year cultural anthropology class changed my course forever. Without her I would not have had the framework on which all of my research is based. Eternal gratitude to John Baumann who insisted I not quit. Thank you to my committee, Phil Scher, who has granted me the freedom to explore new avenues, the guidance to stay on course, and the leeway to push myself to finish. Thank you to Lamia Karim and Maria Escallón for their feedback, guidance, and willingness to work with me. A special thanks to Sarah Wald who helped me bridge a massive gap in my theoretical lens, and develop new skill sets that will allow me to apply this work in practice. !viii Thank you to my dearest friends: Natasha, who has always believed in me; to Jimmy, who will always be my snake twin; Em, my adventure buddy forever; Carolyn, who inspires me endlessly; and my union comrades, in particular Kayleigh, Alyssa, Ellen, Ricardo, Rajeev, Hyunsoo, Shawn, Emily, Trevor, Mike, and Michael. And a profound thank you to my partner, Chase, who has been supportive and encouraging, strong and compassionate, kind and immensely patient as I have pursued a long-standing dream, turned nightmare, turned dream. This is truly for my family. I hope I’ve made you proud. ix! This dissertation is for all the beautiful souls working toward equity on public lands by pushing boundaries, demanding change, working through privilege, and refusing to be told no. All outdoor experiences are unique and valid. “The trail climbs higher and the wind grow stronger. I stumble forward, one foot at a time. I feel angry at the trail, at myself, at the universe, at everything. I’m dehydrated and hungry, but there’s nowhere to stop and rest. The only thing to do is keep moving. “Time disappears, and it is just me and the mountain, and the wind. I have always been in the windstorm, I think, as I fight my way forward. And I will always be in this wind- storm. Up ahead, on a ridge, is a single tree. Someday, I think, I am going to be reincarnated as that tree. As punishment for every choice I’ve ever made. “Or as a reward.” Carrot Quinn, Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart (2016: 5) !x TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………………………….…………..……….……… 1 Positionality……………………………………………………………………… 6 Context and Definitions…………………………………………..……….…..… 8 Christianity in American Foundations…………………………..……………… 13 American the Beautiful …………………,………………………………….…. 16 Methods ……………….…………………………………………………….… 18 Chapter Overviews …….………………………………………………………. 22 II CHAPTER II: SETTLING THE STAGE …………………………………………… 27 Yosemite Grant to the Yosemite Valley Supreme Court Case………………….. 35 Yellowstone and the Beginnings of the National Park System………………….42 Theodore Roosevelt and the Explosion of Public Lands………………………. 45 Public Lands Today ……………………………………………………………. 50 III. CHAPTER III: IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT……………………………… ………. 56 Race and Public Lands…………………………………….…………………… 57 Theoretical Groundwork…………………………………………..…………… 62 Indigeneity and Public Lands……………………………….…………………. 66 “Black Faces, White Spaces”..………………………………………………… 75 Who is Part of the “Club”……………………………………………………….89 Denying Expectations and Pushing Boundaries................................................... 98 IV. CHAPTER IV: WHAT’S MANLINESS GOT TO DO WITH IT?………………. 108 Intersectionality and Bit More on Race.............................................................