Claiming Space: Identity, Endurance, and Coming Home | EP18

What's The Rusch

This week on What’s the Rusch, Rebecca Rusch shares space with ultra-endurance cyclist, storyteller, and Indigenous athlete Alexandera Houchin for a deeply honest and resonant conversation. A citizen of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, Alexandera is rewriting what it means to be a modern Native woman, professional athlete, and cultural steward—on her terms.

Alexandera lives in northern Minnesota—on the land her ancestors lived on– where she now trains for some of the world’s toughest bikepacking races. Alexandera shares her journey from disconnection to deep cultural reconnection. What began as a tool for freedom during a difficult time has become her path to visibility, voice, and purpose.

Together, Rebecca and Alexandera explore what it means to claim space—in sport, in community, and within yourself. This conversation goes beyond endurance to examine identity, representation, responsibility, and the quiet strength it takes to build something meaningful for those who come next.

In this episode, Rebecca and Alexandera explore:

1. The intergenerational impact of cultural disconnection—and how Alexandera reconnected with her Ojibwe roots
2. Her early experiences with addiction and the bike as a tool for survival, then transformation
3. How storytelling, sport, and representation can be tools of reclamation and healing
4. The struggle of turning passion into profession—and keeping purpose at the center
5. Her dream of becoming a fully supported professional athlete in ultra-endurance bikepacking
6. Why she’s shifting from avenging past injustices to building a future of visibility and strength
7. Her big goals for the Tour Divide, and what “winning” means on her terms

Transformative Insights:

1. “I used to want to avenge what was done to my family. Now I want to become the person I needed to see growing up.”
2. Representation isn’t performative—it’s a responsibility to those who come next
3. Belonging is power. Community is performance fuel.
4. You can’t be what you can’t see—visibility matters

Vulnerable Moments:

1. Alexandera opens up about her family’s forced separation due to federal Indian policy
2. Her journey with addiction and how cycling became a tool for freedom and identity
3. The conflict between pursuing sport professionally and staying grounded in purpose
4. How Rebecca’s mentorship helped her take the leap into being a full-time athlete

Practical Wisdom:

1. The importance of cultural storytelling—and the tension between oral tradition and written legacy
2. Why bikes are a vehicle for both personal sovereignty and collective connection
3. “Don’t worry about being fast. Worry about being full—full of purpose, connection, and intention.”
4. You don’t have to do it all alone. Ask for help. Build your village

Personal Growth:

1. Alexandera’s evolution from bike courier to competitive athlete to cultural advocate
2. Her transition from pushing through pain to honoring process
3. Letting go of scarcity mindset and embracing mentorship, partnership, and legacy
4. How sport, when rooted in identity and community, becomes ceremony

Helpful Links:

1. Alexandera’s Trackleaders for Tour Divide
2. Alexandera Houchin on Substack
3. Alexandera on Instagram
4. Watch “Connections” with Rebecca & Alexandera

Sponsor: Momentous

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🎧 Listen to “Claiming Space: Alexandera Houchin on Identity, Endurance, and Coming Home” now.

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