Get Native Kids on Bikes is proud to provide a culturally focused approach to their cycling initiatives.
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Unsure of how you can help? We have outlined practical actionable items in our volunteer section. Let’s see how to use your transferable skills to Get Native Kids on Bikes.
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Looking for ways to donate and support the people doing the work? Take a look at what is being done in Indigenous communities and choose where you want to contribute.
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Get Native Kids on Bikes
Get Native Kids on Bikes seeks to promote the health of Indigenous youth and enrich their lives through cycling.
Why This Is Important
Cycling is inaccessible for many Indigenous youth and GNKOB wants to change that.
Our programming creates a welcoming and inclusive space to foster equity and cultural celebration in the outdoors.
We offer a resource hub for youth and their caretakers to learn more about cycling safety, routes, and opportunities.
Our website also serves as a way to share stories and achievements to increase Indigenous representation within cycling.
Services offered are safety workshops, skill sharing, bicycle maintenance, and culturally relevant experiences to increase confidence, health, and wellbeing.
Summer 2023
GNKOB will team up with community organizers working within Indigenous communities in the Summer of 2023 to increase participation and assist with bike maintenance.
Rides will not only achieve health and wellness, but it is vital to strengthen connection to place and incorporate cultural knowledge throughout the season.
Starting Line
We believe that collaboration and community will help achieve our goals. We recognize that we cannot do this work alone and will need the help from others as we build the GNKOB initiative.
Please feel free to reach out with any tips, feedback, opportunities, or any other bit of assistance. Send an email to Vanessa Bowen.
What We Want to Accomplish
Through initial findings we understand the socio-economic barriers and other limiting factors that make cycling inaccessible to tribal communities, but also recognize the many assets that can cultivate and sustain a healthy cycling community.
We hope to focus on the assets and to not view our work from a deficit perspective, but to highlight the positives of our communities and how we can strengthen each and every contribution.
A few questions we seek to answer are as follows:
- How might we integrate cultural knowledge into cycling programs?
- How might we increase the accessibility to cycling?
- How might we build a sustainable cycling ecosystem within tribal communities?
- How might we strengthen the connection to land? to culture? to language?
In 2023, we aim to create more cultural programming (skill building workshops, bike maintenance clinics, et al.), increase participation in community events, educate on bicycle safety, share cycling opportunities, form tribal community partnerships, continue research, and design a long-term plan to ensure a sustainable cycling ecosystem.