This letter is primarily for future white SKGLers as well as SKGLers of color in order to encourage thoughtfulness and respect amongst each other and the history of the places you will be in.

I decided to take Sea Kayak Guide Leadership (SKGL) because I wanted to try something new and because this year the trip would be in Baja California Sur, México (as opposed to the more frequent location–the San Juan Islands). The purpose of the trip is primarily to teach outdoor leadership. It’s a two week long training session and most people take the class in order to enhance their SCRAMBLE leader applications. This letter is a record of my experience traveling with (mainly) white tourists and what I would have liked them to know prior to the trip.

There is a disproportionate ratio of white students to students of color participating in the Outdoor Program, and it’s not just because our school is predominantly white. Therefore, it is extremely likely that future SKGLers (Sea Kayak Guide Leaders) are mainly, if not all, white, and when white people travel (outside the U.S. and European countries) they are participating in the continuation of colonialism.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that traveling is beautiful and exploring is fun, but it is critical to remember that white privilege follows you wherever you go, especially into countries with a history of settler-colonialism. These places are most affected by your presence there and you need to be conscious of that. Racism and gentrification lie at the heart of the issue and I will do my best to explain them so that you can take responsibility and be a conscious traveller.

Racism Disclaimer: Racism describes a system of institutional power which allows one group of people to discriminate against another/others. This letter is not racist because I am a woman of color and do not have the institutional power to discriminate against you as you have been able to against me. If you don’t understand how this privilege has worked in your favor historically, I suggest you take a look at your own history before reading this letter (ex; how the white identity was constructed, colonialism in the U.S. and other countries, etc). For POC it is largely unproblematic to travel in colonized areas because your people haven’t colonized the whole damn world. Still, it is important to self reflect on any prejudices you may have about the place/people in the country you are traveling in before going in order to be respectful.

*I am aware that there are tensions between certain groups in different parts of the world because of their own histories, but it is generally not analogous to the level of privilege and power white people have acquired.

Before México was México, it was an indigenous land full of distinct tribes who had their own borders, culture, languages and practices. No, we have never all been the same or even so similar we’re basically the same. Spanish colonization and later American colonization changed those ways of life forever, because of this México has a different relationship to indignity than the U.S., which you don’t have the cultural background to understand so don’t comment extensively on it. This applies to POC as well because although it might be relatable, if it is not your experience and your culture, it is not yours to critique.

It is also important to note that America was México before the land was stolen by way of forced treaty, and yet a huge focus of American politics is on how to keep “illegal immigrants” out of the U.S. This sort of rhetoric is practically traditional in the U.S. and has been a part of its politics since the country was founded, the only thing which has changed about it is context. If you’re white, whether you personally agree with the politics or not is irrelevant because the American government is largely controlled by white representatives which were put into their positions of power through white privilege and your community’s vote. In other terms, you benefit from the violent history of colonialism whether you want to or not and must be mindful of this in all of your actions and interactions. You live in a country which has stolen their land and historically abused Mexicans, and yet you get to go on vacation in their hometowns.

Tourism creates an atmosphere deemed “safe” for tourists and it comes at a high cost to the locals because their areas become gentrified. Yup, just when you thought the colonization had stopped! White businessmen build resorts for tourists to get to “experience México” and because of this my country, and many others, has become a playground for tourists to drink and act like like they never would in their own countries. It is never acceptable to go to another country thinking it’s okay to act inappropriately because you might not face the same consequences, and that’s just the basics of being a good guest anywhere. White entitlement is also very pronounced in tourists. I cannot tell you how many times I saw old white people roll their eyes and groan in frustration because the person they were trying to buy something from couldn’t understand them. It’s not okay to treat others like they’re stupid because you can’t understand them and think they should be able to understand you. On that thread, don’t waste the local’s time trying to practice your Spanish language skills on them if they speak English, it’s rude. They’re not there for you to practice on, so unless they don’t know English or you really know what you’re doing, just save it because it’s annoying. You have no idea.

The tourism industry contributes to cultural appropriation as well, so be mindful of what you buy. Things intended for tourists like keychains and t-shirts are great (as long as they don’t depict Mexican caricatures or racist stereotypes)! If you’re not sure about something, question whether you know the cultural significance of an item before buying it. Catrina figurines, traditional tunic shirts and sugar skulls are not for your consumption. Logic along the lines of, “If they’re selling xyz it must be ok to buy!” is flawed and privileged because it oversimplifies of a very complicated issue.

There are many reasons a person may sell things of cultural significance to tourists, one of the main ones being money. Tourism impacts an area’s economy the most by creating a cycle molded to tourism, which changes the area permanently. For example, it is more common to see locals as owners of smaller business operations because it is easier to set up a store than a resort (because resorts have to have investors with lots of money). Automatically the type of economic growth local people have is limited by privileged money which can only make money by being in their environment. Shopkeepers running their stores know that tourists want things they don’t have at home, like culture, so they offer it to them in order to make a living. At the end of the day, you have control over your own actions and they are trying to run a successful business. Comments about wanting to live or retire in Baja are also problematic because it’s still gentrification aka an extension of colonialism.

At this point, I’d like to make it clear that I don’t have a “plan” for how to be a white tourist in colonized spaces. It’s a messy issue and the world is complicated, and I don’t know that anyone has a solid answer. In an ideal world, white people would stay out of those countries because no one invited you to begin with, but this isn’t an ideal world and in many places tourism is a pillar of a community’s economy and to remove it could potentially have enormous consequences. I’m also aware that SKGL isn’t going to stop going to Baja just because traveling there means participating in a type of colonialism. Since it’s not going to stop, the only thing I can leave you with is this: if you are white you are the recipient of a colonial legacy which continues to oppress people around the world–including the places you want to travel. Be aware of that.