WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT IN THE OUTDOORS
By Maajiitaaziibkwe, Mary Sam
Taya Sam-Sablan, great-granddaughter of Leonard Sam-iban, is a 2018 Isle High School graduate. At 24 years old, she works as a clinic assistant at a University of Minnesota health clinic in Maple Grove. When she is not at work, you will find Taya on the lake, in the woods, on a 4-wheeler, hunting, and gathering. Taya’s early teachings and her love of the woods and lake have taken her on an unexpected but rewarding journey. For the last two years, she has participated in outdoor adventures through an all-female wilderness organization whose goal is to empower women by creating unforgettable experiences that build community, confidence, and deepen their appreciation for the wilderness.
Although a young ikwe, Taya’s path into self-discovery and increasing her confidence started with hunting and fishing with her great-grandfather, dad, uncles, and cousins. In 2024, she attended her first wilderness excursion in Green Bay through the Her Wilderness Organization where she angled her record walleye of 10.2 pounds, 29 ¼ inches. Following that trip, she and her grandmother, Tracy Sam, participated in a white sturgeon fishing excursion in British Columbia, Canada. This trip took fishing to another level. Under the guidance of other seasoned female guides, Taya pulled in a nearly 500-pound, 8-foot-11-inch, white sturgeon that was almost three times her size. “Exhilaration” was a word that only came a close to what this once in a life time experience offered. The energy and excitement she experienced prompted her to go a step further in her self-discovery journey.
“It was time for me to do this solo,” she said. For Taya, this meant going alone, without family or friends. “I wanted to branch out, to find women like me who wanted to try new ways of hunting and fishing. I wanted to take huge risks and find my strength as a woman and to learn to trust myself.”
The first Her Wilderness excursion provided her with an unquenchable thirst for wanting more for herself, to explore a path to increasing her independence and self-confidence in a safe, judgment-free environment. “For me, this has helped me realize who I am and build my confidence while learning to be more of a people person and applying all of the skills I am learning to my everyday life.”
Although the trips do not have an Indigenous spiritual focus, the environment feels familiar. Taya said all of the guides teach appreciation to the animals, fish, water, and land, “paying respect and passing the food along to our families and communities like I was taught.” Taya remembers the teachings of her great-grandfather, who was an inspiration to her, the family, as well as many others in the community, to be keepers of the land, hunting, fishing, and gathering. “I know Papa is watching me and smiling.”
Her solo trips so far have included a goose hunt, a thermal coyote hunt, fishing Lake Erie for walleye, and next, a trip to Maine, where she will hunt sea ducks. Future trips may include fishing for Alaskan salmon, catfishing, alligator hunting, crabbing, python hunting, backpacking, and sea kayaking. The opportunities are endless.
These trips and the challenges that accompany them have given Taya a sense of purpose, pride, and responsibility to inspire family and other young girls and women to believe in themselves, to take risks, and stay true to who they are.
“My advice to younger girls is to go out and take the op portunities where you can try new things. Life is too short not to try. Go for it. You can’t say you don’t like something if you didn’t even try.”
For more information, contact Her Wilderness at https://herwilderness.com
