DEI Statement

Since 2026, Smoky Mountains Wilderness Watch has made a chapter commitment to working within a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion framework. This is an ongoing journey. We want to thank everyone in our community who has shared feedback with us regarding this work. We welcome your comments and questions via contact us

DEI Statement

Smoky Mountains Wilderness Watch is committed to protecting wild lands and waters for the well-being of all people. We recognize our responsibility to impede institutional racism and discriminatory policies that harm and exclude historically marginalized communities due to their race, gender, ability, age, socioeconomic class, religion, or sexual orientation.

We are dedicated to engaging a diversity of voices and respecting Tribal sovereignty in the conversation of wild lands. From time immemorial, local Tribes have maintained strong connections to sacred lands and waters of what is now referred to as Western North Carolina. We are committed to respecting their unique Tribal treaty and historic rights and lifeways.  

Our conservation efforts are intended to empower all communities to contribute to and benefit from the cultural, health, social, and economic results. We believe the journey towards diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect of sovereignty is an active process that requires continuous commitment. Smoky Mountains Wilderness Watch pledges to grow, learn, listen, act, and evolve so we may better deliver our mission of protecting wild lands and waters for current and future generations.

Definitions

Diversity is the presence of difference within a given setting (a team, workplace, or industry), which can include race, gender identity and expression, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic or veteran status.

Inclusivity promotes belonging among people with different identities and ensures that people feel valued, empowered, and welcomed within a given setting.

Equity recognizes that not everyone has access to the same opportunities due to both systemic advantages and barriers that exist in our society. Equity is the process and practice of justice as it relates to undoing oppression.

While Diversity and Inclusion are both outcomes, Equity is not. It’s the process an organization engages in to ensure that people with marginalized identities have the opportunity to grow, contribute, and develop.

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge that our chapter is located on the ancestral land of the Cherokee people and others both past and present. Further, we acknowledge that our work encompasses the traditional lands of all tribes in what is referred to today as Western North Carolina. We honor with gratitude the land itself, and those who have been the responsible stewards of these lands and waters since time immemorial. We look forward to creating an alliance with the Cherokee people as we work in the conservation and protection of Western North Carolina. We understand that the narratives of these lands and regions, including lands now known as public lands, and the people who lived here before colonization, and those who continue to live here today, have not always been fully recognized.

Thank you for respecting this important history as we move forward together in our work to protect and restore Western North Carolina’s wild lands for generations to come.