ASHLI AKINS
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I am a Canadian cultural ecologist, human rights legal analyst, social entrepreneur, and storyteller passionate about cultural revitalization, slow fashion, and sustainable development. I am a National Geographic Explorer based in the Andean mountains of Peru.

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I am honoured to study, work, and live on Quechua lands in the Andean mountains and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) traditional, unceded, ancestral territory, and to collaborate with extraordinarily resilient artists and women who are collectively working to keep their cultures alive in the face of climate change, economic shifts, and globalization. I am the descendent of a long line of artists who immigrated to North America from Sweden, Ireland, and Germany, including Great-Grandma Jackson (weaver), my great-uncles the Grimm Brothers (writers), and my parents, Brent and Marka (musicians and fibre artists).

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I am a PhD candidate in the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program at the University of British Columbia, co-supervised by former National Geographic explorer-in-residence Dr. Wade Davis (Dept. of Anthropology) and Dr. Kai Chan (Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability; Public Policy & Global Affairs). My working title for my doctoral thesis is "Pampas y Pallays: Safeguarding cultural heritage in an era of rapid economic change."

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When I was 21, I founded Mosqoy, a charitable organization that works with highland Quechua communities of the Peruvian Andes. Mosqoy aims to mitigate the adverse effects of unsustainable tourism and development by providing economic opportunities that nurture their threatened indigenous culture. Mosqoy is now over 14 years old and is a strong force for marginalized youth and weavers in the Cusco region. For its first decade, I acted as Mosqoy’s Executive Director, and now advise the charity’s operations as President of its Board of Directors.
 

And, in my not-so-spare time, I play the fiddle, rock-climb, dance, and get lost in the mountains. One of my most epic (or ridiculous) adventures took me over the last Andean mountain into the cloud forest of the Amazon jungle for 12 days, with little more than a machete, a compass, and the only map I could find - from 1964.