Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation
by Tiya Miles

Wild Girls is a captivating historical work that celebrates women who found strength and independence in the great outdoors. This book highlights figures like Harriet Tubman, who used her knowledge of the land for escape, and Louisa May Alcott, who defied gender norms in New England. It brings new insight into iconic figures like Sacagawea and Pocahontas, and shines a light on lesser-known but equally influential women like Zitk la-S , Dolores Huerta, and Grace Lee Boggs.

The narrative weaves together stories of women from different backgrounds and eras, emphasizing how their connection to nature played a pivotal role in their fight against assimilation, racism, and sexism. These trailblazers, from the Indigenous women’s basketball team at Fort Shaw to activists and writers, used outdoor spaces for joy, protest, and resistance.

Lyrically written and rich with archival discoveries, Wild Girls not only recounts the histories of these remarkable women and the landscapes they cherished but also advocates for contemporary young women’s equal access to the outdoors, regardless of race or class.