Ambreen Tariq

Ambreen Tariq, whose family emigrated to the U.S. from India, learned to camp with family in Minnesota.^[5] Tariq, who is Muslim, created Brown People Camping after noting the lack of diversity she saw while camping at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.^[6] The Instagram account seeks to promote greater diversity on public lands^[7] through storytelling and the power of visual representation. As of March 2022, the account has nearly 32,000 followers.^[8] The account's popularity led to brand ambassadorships with several outdoor recreation companies, including L.L. Bean, Merrell,^[9] REI,^[10] and Airstream,^[11] and has been covered in the press by major publications like The New York Times^[12] and Vogue Business,^[13] among others.

In 2021, Tariq published her debut children's book, Fatima's Great Outdoors,^[14][15] through Penguin Random House. The book tells the story of a young Muslim girl whose family goes on their very first camping trip after immigrating to the United States from India.^[16] It received positive reviews from publications like NPR's Short Wave,^[17] Sierra Club,^[18] and Kirkus Reviews.^[19]