Aboriginal Tourism in Canada in the 21st Century

Aboriginal cultural tourism in Canada has had the potential to help preserve tradition, strengthen identity, create economic opportunities and introduce non-native people to native culture. Alternately, it might have reinforced stereotypes and pushed indigenous people to fabricate experiences to meet tourists’ expectations. Woodland Cultural Centre, established in Brantford, Ont., in 1972 on Six Nations land and Xá:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre, opened in 1992 outside Mission, B.C. are two examples examined in this book. NK’MIP Desert Cultural Centre, in the Okanagan, B.C., and Great Spirit Circle Trail in the Manitoulin region of Ontario have also been studied. The questions asked were: Do aboriginal cultural tourism’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses? Can these initiatives benefit communities? Can they benefit Canada? As the travel industry continues to grow, this analysis should be helpful to aboriginal groups involved in tourism, managers of government tourism funding programs and anyone interested in sustainable tourism projects run by indigenous peoples.