Meet Indra.

You've already seen her all over our weekly emails this fall. We are so excited to get to know a little more about the incredible person behind the gorgeous face.

“Incluskivity is a group of like-minded people who support and encourage one another, creating a safe community of backcountry enthusiasts.” 

4: What have you learned in your experiences broadening the ski community and advocating for underrepresenting voices (and skiers)?

I have learned an immeasurable amount of lessons, but one of the most significant takeaways I had from our first ever program was that oftentimes, you don't even realize how much of a barrier something is for you until that barrier is eradicated. Prior to Incluskivity, I had almost exclusively skiied with white folks, and I didn't understand the full weight that being the only person of colour in a group held on me until I was no longer in that situation. It felt as though a veil had been lifted and I could finally see all of my potential. 

4: This Instagram post is beautifully written. Can you share with us your reflections on what it means to be an extraordinary womxn today?

In her monologue in the Barbie movie, America Ferrera says "It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong." What this monologue really gets at is how the expectations for women are riddled with oxymorons and our worthiness is measured by expectations that we would never project onto a man. Personally, this often leaves me feeling like I am either too much or never enough, overcome by a need to contort myself into whatever box will please people. But with that being said, two things can be true. I also feel extremely fortunate to live somewhere where I can have a voice, be heard, and elevate others. I feel grateful that I can challenge the status quo and feel safe doing so.

I feel hopeful that with the help of compassion, we as a community can leverage the privileges that we have been offered to work toward collective liberation

from these boxes that we never wanted to fit into anyway, gender aside!  

4: In being vulnerable in your Instagram posts, it is apparent that you are committed to lifelong learning. What would you say to someone to might be afraid to take the first step in stepping out of their comfort zone?

I always say that discomfort is the sweet spot for growth. Whenever I am confronted with moments of discomfort in my (un)learning, I ask myself what that feeling in my heart or stomach is trying to tell me. These moments can also come up in discrete moments of unlearning, like in conversations when I become very suddenly aware of the language I'm using. In my experience, you can do one of a few things with that discomfort; push it away, become defensive, or get curious. In my personal journey of unlearning, I've found that the biggest breakthroughs come from curiosity and choosing to step outside of the perspectives that I hold and consider the fact that there could be more to the picture than what I am seeing at first glance. 

We wanted to end on a beautiful quote from one of Incluskivity's posts about holding space for each other.

Each individual comes with their own unique, very real set of experiences, and whether or not we have experienced the same thing doesn’t change the reality of others. If you haven’t had to question if things would be different if you weren’t a person of colour or a woman, that is a privilege. Hold space for yourself to learn about the different ways people move through life, and think about how you can create more inclusive spaces for everyone 💛

Hear Hear. 

Follow Indra and Inclskivity on Instagram.