Margot Imdieke Cross 1956-2024

Margot in 1977 on the shore of Lac La Croix in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Paddling along the river of life brings us in contact with many people. Most encounters are brief and soon forgotten. A precious few form life-long relationships. And every so often a person comes along who has a profound influence on how we view life. Margot Imdieke Cross was one of those profound influencers.

In 1977, when Mary Lais Waring recommended Margot for the very first Wilderness Inquiry trip involving persons with disabilities, co-founders Greg Lais and Paul Schurke didn’t know they were meeting someone who would shape the very core of the fledgling organization. Because of Margot, all of Wilderness Inquiry’s programs are rooted in the inherent dignity of each person and the strengths that each person brings.

On that first trip to Lac La Croix in the Boundary Waters, Greg and Paul started off by carrying Margot over their shoulders across portages. Having little experience interacting with a person with a disability, they thought they were helping this woman with a disability experience the Wilderness. But by the third day Margot was not a happy camper and complained about being treated like a “sack of potatoes.”

Margot insisted on crossing the next portage on her own without their assistance. Baffled, they said, “fine, cross this mile-long portage in your wheelchair on your own.” And she did! That was a defining moment for everyone on the trip, and it gave birth to a philosophy of letting people do what they can without making assumptions. That philosophy was easier said than done but over the years Margot guided the organization to a place where everyone, and we do mean everyone, was treated equally. The Wilderness didn’t care what your status in life was, nor if you had a disability. Neither did Margot, and it rubbed off.

A founding board member, when Margot wasn’t paddling or dogsledding with Wilderness Inquiry she was on the forefront of the civil rights movement. She worked for many years with the Minnesota Council on Disabilities and championed many of the rights we enjoy today. This includes making MN State Parks and Trails more accessible. She was smart, funny, and fierce about equitable treatment: not better, not special, but equal. Margot was a true leader in the disability rights movement, and everyone involved with Wilderness Inquiry should be thankful she climbed in our canoe in 1977. We greatly miss Margot, an advocate and friend. As you paddle this canoe, please think about how YOU can continue to advocate for the dignity of all.