What does it mean to be a settler on stolen Indigenous land? How has my proximity to settler colonialism curated my experiences in these lands, how I understand myself, and my relationship and responsibility to Indigenous peoples? What does meaningful alliance and repair actually look like—is it even possible?
Recreational Colonialism and the Rhetorical Landscapes of the Outdoors
In Recreational Colonialism and the Rhetorical Landscapes of the Outdoors, Kyle Boggs chronicles the struggle between Indigenous peoples who have rooted religious and cultural ties to outdoor sites across the US and elsewhere and the settlers who claim the right to freely recreate in those same places. Synthesizing theories of rhetoric, environmental studies, and settler colonialism, Boggs confronts the ways that settler colonial experiences and expectations have been narrated through rhetorical practices on these so-called public lands. Fusing journalism and personal narrative with scholarly research, Boggs’s argument comes to bear on his central case study of a northern Arizona ski development on a mountain held sacred by at least thirteen Indigenous tribes. In illuminating the striking ways that settler imaginaries are accommodated, performed, and sustained in the everyday, Boggs offers a powerful reminder that even during leisure activities (in this case, sports such as ultrarunning, rock climbing, and skiing), complex webs of power control who can access resources and land and who has the right to protect histories and cultures. Ohio State University Press, 2025.
“Boggs not only theorizes and critiques a new form of colonialism but also offers pathways, through reflexivity and comradeship, for outdoor enthusiasts to resist colonialism and support Indigenous sovereignty. An essential read for both scholars and practitioners of outdoor recreation.” —Danielle Endres, author of Nuclear Decolonization: Indigenous Resistance to High-Level Nuclear Waste Siting
“Recreational Colonialism and the Rhetorical Landscapes of the Outdoors is a welcome addition to scholarship on settler colonialism in the US. Boggs doesn’t simply rely on arguments of governance jurisdiction or simple racism but instead interrogates relationships to land and place.” —Adam J. Barker, author of Making and Breaking Settler Space: Five Centuries of Colonization in North America
Kyle Boggs, PhD.
I have been a writer all my life, specializing in public and community writing centered on social and environmental justice issues. I am a trained professional communicator, digital editor/publisher, public speaker, and educator. My academic training is in rhetoric & composition, and I am currently associate professor of rhetoric and community engagement in the department of humanities and cultural studies at Boise State. I am also the editor and publisher for the Writing for Change Journal, an online multimodal creative platform out of Boise, Idaho that works with budding writers and creators to publish thematic collections focused on change.
My effectiveness as a meaning maker is punctuated by a confluence of experience in nonprofit writing, journalism, and grassroots community education. I have also helped thousands achieve their potential as writers, effective communicators, content creators, organizational leaders, and community collaborators.
