Indigenous youth climbers connect with Washington’s Mount Tahoma

Standing at 14,410 feet, Mount Tahoma is the tallest mountain in the Pacific Northwest. It’s also known worldwide as Mount Rainier, and is often a stepping stone for mountaineers with their sights set on climbing peaks like Denali and Kilimanjaro. It’s long held significance to the Indigenous tribes with homelands around its base, which have their own names for the mountain — like Tahoma. Many of these names translate to “mother of all waters.”

Outdoor educator and Muckleshoot tribal member Rachel Heaton began hiking and climbing the mountain during the pandemic, and noticed the lack of Indigenous presence there. In an effort to help bring visibility of Native people back to the mountain, she led a group of Indigenous teens and young adults on a climb in June to Camp Muir, just above 10,000 feet up the mountain.

“Oregon Field Guide” producer Jessie Sears brings us along as the group climbs more than 4,600 feet — through dense fog, breathtaking beauty, and tent-snapping winds — and reflects on their relationships with nature and themselves.

Watch Jessie Sears’ documentary for OPB’s “Oregon Field Guide,” “Climbing Mount Tahoma.”

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