Masters in their own tepees

UNESCO Courier, July-August, 1999 by Gary Marchant

In Canada and Australia, aboriginal communities are taking control of tourism in their homelands.

In the frozen wastelands of the Canadian Arctic, several kabloonas (Inuit for strangers) clumsily hack out huge ice blocks and piece them together to make an igloo under the eyes of an Inuit guide. In an Australian desert, a young city woman learns from locals to savour an aboriginal delicacy, beetle larva called witchetty grub. A small band of visitors gathers in a rainforest park on Canada's Pacific south-west coast, listening to a native tour guide explain how to read totem pole carvings with their bogeywomen, thunderbirds and other mythological characters.

These scenes reflect the growing tourist demand to discover and experience aboriginal cultures. At the same time, they tell a story about control over the growing aboriginal tourism niche market. From Iqaluit, the capital of the new Canadian territory of Nunavut, to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, native entrepreneurs themselves are increasingly showing off their cultures - and profiting from it. This stands in contrast to many other parts of the world where indigenous communities have little control or even say in tourist inflows that are having sometimes huge impacts on their cultures and societies.

"While we have played a role in the tourism industry for years, we were somewhat marginalized," says Barry Parker, president of the Canadian National Aboriginal Tourism Association (CNATA). "We were thought of in terms of pow wows or other cultural celebrations, or as 'wilderness guides' for hunting and fishing."

Native entrepreneurs no longer merely stage abbreviated, simplified dance shows for tour groups which quickly move on to other ersatz attractions, or souvenir shops selling mass-produced trinkets. Today, indigenous populations are providing transportation services and accommodations while opening galleries, restaurants, theatres and even their own homes.

Not all aboriginal communities in Canada or Australia welcome tourism. However, many see it as an important source of income. CNATA is "bottom line oriented," says Parker. "Our business is job creation and revenue creation." Promoters say tourism also allows aboriginals to teach others about their traditions, thus helping strengthen indigenous culture.

Aboriginal Business Canada, a federal government agency, cites tourism development as one of its top three priorities. There are now about 1,000 Canadian aboriginal tourism businesses (i.e., businesses that are at least 51 per cent owned or controlled by native people) generating up to some $200 million in revenue per year, according to the federal government's Department of Indian Affairs. These companies provide about 15,000 jobs seasonally and 7,500 year round.

Indigenous tourism has become so economically important to both countries that governments and aboriginal peoples have established official groups to promote and control the industry. Besides the CNATA, these include Aboriginal Tourism Australia, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism Industry Strategy (NATSITIS) and Aboriginal Tourism British Columbia (ATBC). Even Nunavut, the new territory in northern Canada, has its own tourism body, promoting the Eskimo (Inuit) culture.

Fixing snakebite with seaweed

Australia has about 200 aboriginal-operated tourism businesses, according to Graeme Priestley, who manages the federal government's section responsible for developing aboriginal tourism. These businesses are generating almost $20 million in revenue per year, with sales in indigenous arts and crafts amounting to an estimated $130 million annually, according to the Australian Office of National Tourism. Priestley believes that indigenous tourism could be a much more significant business opportunity for aboriginal people.

The growing revenues going back to their communities mark progress for those aborigines who want to encourage tourism. But by their standards, more can be done. The Canadian Tourism Commission estimates that if aboriginal peoples shared in the tourism industry in proportion to their population - four per cent of Canada's total - aboriginal tourism would bring in about $1 billion annually - five times what it does today - and provide as many as 40,000 jobs.

Likewise, despite progress, Australia's aborigines still face several major obstacles to developing tourism. To begin with, aboriginal land claims must be legally resolved. Without legal land titles, aboriginal people find it difficult to secure bank loans to start up their businesses. Also in short supply are the business skills needed to successfully run a company. To try to fill these gaps, the government has worked with aboriginal authorities to set up a range of supportive measures - from individual grants to training programmes.

Hazel Douglas, a member of the Guguyalanji tribe in the far north of Australia's Queensland, is fully aware of the difficulties of breaking into the tourism trade. "When I started my business [five years ago], people said, 'Oh, she's just an aboriginal lady, she'll only last a couple of days,' "Douglas told The Australian newspaper. Today, her award-winning business, Native Guide Safari Tours, leads groups across the rugged terrain of the Daintree rainforest, a World Heritage site, and Cape Tribulation National Park. While recounting legends and explaining traditional culture, she takes her groups into the bush to show them how to eat the thirst-quenching abdomens of live green ants - high in vitamin C. She also teaches them how to fix snakebite with seaweed and how to listen to the bird calls near the river to know whether a crocodile lies in wait. For Douglas, the tour is more than just a business. "The most important thing is to educate people about aboriginal culture and to preserve it," she says.