What started out as an Instagram account has expanded into a successful Navajo-owned outdoors company that sells everything from water bottles to hats to climbing gear. And it’s paving the way for other Indigenous entrepreneurs.
By Ameema Ahmed
American Indian culture is woven into Arizona’s social fabric, but for many Indigenous communities, the ability to tell their own stories in their own way has been met with many barriers. That’s what inspired Len Necefer (pictured), a member of the Navajo Nation, to start Tucson-based Natives Outdoors, an outdoor apparel and storytelling company. “We started out as an Instagram account in 2017,” he says. “We have since expanded into doing product, media and storytelling.”
As its name implies, Natives Outdoors sells products — everything from water bottles to hats to climbing gear — that appeal to outdoors enthusiasts. “One of the things we saw early on was that there was a lot of appropriation of Native designs and culture in the outdoor industry,” Necefer says. “And we said, ‘We can probably do it better.’ ”
To do that, Necefer hired Navajo designer Vernan Kee, who has become the primary creative mind behind all of Natives Outdoors’ products. “Our products support Indigenous communities because we are a Native-owned company, and a majority of our employees are from various tribes in the Southwest,” Necefer says. “All of the products come from them and their inspiration.”
Necefer’s passion for putting more Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs on the map stems from seeing firsthand the shortage of avenues these communities have to get businesses off the ground. “Entrepreneurship is something that has been unavailable to our communities because of a lack of access to capital or traditional banking mechanisms, as well as other barriers that exist,” he says. “Our product drives creating a greater footprint for the Native people in the outdoor community.”
In addition to giving Indigenous communities a platform, Natives Outdoors donates to American Indian-run nonprofits that are focused on areas of outdoor recreation, language and cultural revitalization, and environmental issues.
Creating environmentally sustainable products is an important part of the Natives Outdoors mission, both in terms of the items the company sources and in how they are used. “We try to minimize our impact,” Necefer says. “Where we can’t minimize it, we offset it in responsible ways.” And to hold itself accountable, Natives Outdoors has been auditing its supply-chain methods and publicizing its environmental impact statement to show how it has improved and shrunk its environmental footprint.
The philosophy of being sustainable and respectful to the planet is rooted in tribal cultures, and Necefer’s focus has been to cherish those traditions by “maintaining a balance with the planet we call home.”
Running a small business has its challenges, but Necefer says those challenges only make him push harder to succeed. “It’s dynamic; it’s always trying to think and plan ahead,” he says. “It’s the flying by the seat of your pants that’s the fun part.” He adds that owning and operating his business is kind of like climbing and skiing: “A lot of it can get scary, but it puts things in perspective.”
Necefer hopes the success of Natives Outdoors can pave the way for the next generation of Indigenous entrepreneurs: “I think there is so much untapped talent that exists in this community, and we are simply showcasing that.”
NativesOutdoors, natives-outdoors.com
To learn more about independent, locally owned businesses, please contact Local First Arizona, which represents nearly 3,000 locally owned businesses and supports a sustainable Arizona economy by educating citizens about local business ownership, social equity, cultural diversity, environmental kinship and collaboration. For more information: localfirstaz.com or 602-956-0909.