Director's Corner: The Great (Rural) Divide
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I was honored to be an invited speaker at the second Re-imagining the Rural West Workshop, hosted by the Western Governor's Association (WGA) earlier this month.
Led by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, the WGA has launched the Re imagining the Rural West Initiative, to focus on the “opportunity we have in the West to do things that are remarkable.”
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Save the Date: Indian Country Tourism Fundraising Webinar Series
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Save the date for AIANTA's new Indian Country Tourism Funding webinar program
This weekly series explores private and public sources that can help Tribes find funding for their tourism projects.
The first webinar,
Grant Writing 101
, features AIANTA's Gail Chehak who distributes AIANTA's twice-monthly Funding Opportunities bulletins. Also speaking is Anne Ketz, CEO of the 106 Group, who is currently working with Akwesasne to develop a culturally-authentic tourism program.
Grant Writing 101
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Mountain
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AIANTA Secures Hotel Andaluz Albuquerque as the 2020 Go International Host
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If you're interested in targeting the lucrative international traveler, AIANTA's Go International is a can't-miss training program.
The two-day workshop takes place Jan. 27-28, 2020 at the Hotel Andaluz Albuquerque.
Hurry. Spaces are limited to this exclusive event and are going quickly. Don't miss your opportunity to hone your international marketing skills.
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Small Business Saturday: Shop Native
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If you're looking for unique holiday gifts this Small Business Saturday (and beyond), we've compiled a few ideas from some of our favorite online shops at Tribally owned museums and cultural centers around the country.
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We look forward to seeing you at the 22nd annual American Indian Tourism Conference, the only national conference dedicated to travel and tourism in Indian Country.
AITC 2020, scheduled for September 14-17, 2020, will be hosted by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation at the scenic We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort.
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Share Your Expertise at AITC
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AIANTA is now accepting requests from potential speakers for next year's American Indian Tourism Conference.
If you're interested in sharing your experiences or expertise, please complete our 2020 AITC Call for Speakers form.
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Balancing Nature and Commerce
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The Conservation Fund is accepting applications for their National Balancing Nature and Commerce Course.
2020 National Balancing Nature and Commerce
February 11-13, 2020
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
During the three-day course, community-based teams will identify opportunities to differentiate their communities based upon their unique assets, have the opportunity to hear about the latest trends in outdoor recreation, workforce development and context-sensitive transportation, and develop specific action plans for implementation when they return home.
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Take the
State of Indian Country Tourism Survey
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AIANTA’s “State of Indian Country Tourism” report monitors Native American tourism enterprises around the country and measures sentiment for the coming year.
Survey results are published twice a year and detail how sentiment expectations for the coming twelve months.
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USTOA Annual Conference & Marketplace
Dec. 2-6, 2019
Host: US Tour Operator Association
Location: Orlando, Florida (Eastern)
2019 BIA Tribal Provider’s Conference
Dec. 3-5, 2019
Host: Bureau of Indian Affairs
Location: Anchorage. Alaska (Alaska)
Travel Exchange (National Tour Association)
Dec. 8–12, 2019
Host: National Tour Association
Location: Fort Worth Convention Center; Fort Worth, Texas
Go International
Jan. 27-28, 2020
Host: AIANTA
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post
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Opened in May 1996, the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post was the product of a partnership between the Minnesota Historical Society and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Both groups worked together to select a location, an architectural firm, and the content of the exhibits.
The Museum offers workshops that feature Ojibwe crafts, many taught by Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe elders, including workshops for making moccasins, beading, sweet grass baskets, birch bark ornaments, woodland pottery, porcupine quill jewelry and others.
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Reimagining the Rural West: Cultural Heritage and Tourism
As travelers increasingly seek out authentic and singular experiences, tourism presents an opportunity for rural destinations to expose visitors to their rich culture and history. This panel explored how western tribes and communities are developing cultural heritage tourism and capitalizing on their unique local offerings to drive sustainable economic growth. Panelists: Melvin Juanico, Operations Manager, Sky City Cultural Center & Haak’u Museum; Angelisa Murray, Owner and Guide, Heritage Inspirations; Sherry Rupert, Executive Director, American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association. //
Western Governors' Association
The budding agritourism business
Picking your own apples, tracing your dinner from farm to table and even touring gardens and vineyards are all elements of agritourism that some Native business owners are cashing in on. Tribes and individual farmers, agritourism is a way to build interest in the culture surrounding food while also satisfying the hunger people have for learning about food and connecting to it. //
Native America Calling
Restoration Of Desert View Watchtower At Grand Canyon Completed
A majority of the funding for the project was provided by an Artplace America grant awarded to the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association Inc. on behalf of Grand Canyon National Park... //
National Parks Traveler
D.C. app spotlights American landmarks 'with a native twist'
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AIANTA Members in the News
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Behind the Rise of Native American Wines
Several wineries and grape-growing relationships have emerged from Native American reservations in recent years. While each project looks different, they are all deliciously symbiotic. Tribes in California, New Mexico, Utah and British Columbia have created small, successful and critically acclaimed brands. They also incorporate strict sustainability practices in an effort to protect the land. //
Wine Enthusiast
10 Native American Inventions Commonly Used Today
From kayaks to contraceptives to pain relievers, Native Americans developed key innovations long before Columbus reached the Americas. //
History.com
Commerce Department announces investments in Native American economic development services
The Department of Commerce has announced investments in eight tribal economic and business development organizations – one for each tribal government in Montana. The investments, totaling $160,000, will support business services for tribal entrepreneurs through the Native American Business Advisors program at the Department of Commerce. Services available through the program include assisting tribal entrepreneurs in writing business plans, guidance for applying for the Indian Equity Fund Small Business Grant and other business-related counseling. //
Cutbank Pioneer Press
'I know who I am': Seattle's urban Natives tell the story of the city's first Indigenous landmark
But on Oct. 16, the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board approved what will soon become the city’s first Native addition: Licton Springs, the site of a spring historically used for medicinal and cultural purposes by the Duwamish, located within its namesake park in North Seattle. //
Crosscut
Sitka Tribe, NPS continue negotiating future park management
There’s uncertainty over whether Sitka’s tribe will lead interpretation at Sitka National Historical Park next year. The National Park Service and Sitka Tribe of Alaska say they’re negotiating terms of a new Annual Funding Agreement after the federal government opted not to renew the contract for 2020. //
Alaska Public Media
The U.S. has spent more money erasing Native languages than saving them
As tribes fight to save their languages from extinction, has the government done enough? //
High Country News
Nanih Waiya: 'Mother Mound' and First Capital of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Nanih Waiya is an ancient platform mound earthwork in southern Winston County, Mississippi, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 300 to 600 CE. Since the 17th century, the Choctaw have venerated Nanih Waiya mound and nearby cave as their sacred origin location. The earliest archaeological evidence of occupation at Nanih Waiya is dated to about 300 to 600 CE during the Middle Woodland, when it was probably built. //
McAlester News-Capital
Fort Mojave Indian Days begin with cultural center dedication
The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe held the ribbon cutting to officially open their Pipa Aha Macav Cultural Center as a kickoff to the 43rd Fort Mojave Indian Days on Oct. 21. //
Needles Desert Star
Potawatomi tests Lyft program to solve employee transportation issues
Employees at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, like those for many of its neighboring businesses, face difficulties in transportation to and from the Menomonee Valley. That difficulty prompted Potawatomi to launch a new pilot program with Lyft, which will begin Nov. 18. //
Milwaukee Business Journal
Native American shield returned to New Mexico from France
A ceremonial Native American shield has been welcomed back to New Mexico by tribal leaders, in the culmination of a yearslong international campaign to reclaim the sacred object that held a place in a cycle of ceremonies until it vanished from a mesa-top indigenous village in the 1970s. //
Albuquerque Journal
Teen's pride in tribe helps fund local museum
The 17-year-old Stafford High School junior is leading the “Tribe Drive,” a junior class fundraising campaign, in which royal blue-and-gold T-shirts are being sold to help support the Patawomeck tribe’s museum and cultural center in southern Stafford. //
Fredericksburg.com
Has your tribal or tribal tourism enterprise been featured in the news?
Please let us know
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AIANTA Membership
AIANTA members are well-informed and play a key role in supporting sustainable and authentic tribal tourism that benefits not only member tribes, but all tribes. With your help, we’ll continue to make sure that the right national decision makers hear your voice—and all our voices—so our people can thrive and grow.
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AIANTA Membership
A gift to AIANTA helps increase the technical support available to Native American-led tourism programs while also fostering a greater awareness of Indian Country destinations, activities and events.
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Mark your calendars for these upcoming events
Go International
Jan. 27-28, 2020
Location: Albuquerque, N.M.
American Indian Tourism Conference
Sept. 14-17, 2020
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Host: We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort/Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
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Image credits:
Menominee River, Wisconsin (c) Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; Canoe Pottery (c) /Catawba Cultural Preservation Project; We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort (c) Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation; Susquehanna River (c) Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources/The Conservation Fund; Tipi (c) Indian Summer Fest, Milwaukee.
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