Jolie Varela (she/her) is a citizen of the Tule River Yokuts and Nüümü (Paiute) Nations. She currently resides in her maternal homelands of Payahuunadü also known as the Owens Valley. She grew up on the Bishop Indian reservation fishing and swimming the creeks with her cousins. In 2017 she founded Indigenous Women Hike. Indigenous Women Hike aims to regenerate the relationship between the land and its original people, while consequently decolonizing the history of Indigenous territories. Jolie is a community organizer, body positive advocate, land defender, water protector, and proud to be a queer Indigenous woman.
