TRMT 396

Lecture #4

Dan McDonald

“Indigenous cultural experiences are subjectively consumed and negotiated in terms of tourists’ prior knowledge, interests, expectations, mythologies, and personal meaning, rather than by the cultural offerings of the destination” McIntosh & Ryan (2007)

Need to make visible how history & tradition are part of the present

Deutschlander & Miller (2003)

MythologizingEmphasizing OthernessDirectly linking Past and

PresentCreating SpectacleBuilding a story McKercher & du Cros (2009)

Commodification often seen as threat but cultures are dynamic & flexible and can use process as new means to access cultural traditions

Medina ( 2003)

Stereotypes may be reinforced by nature of existing products & tourist experiences McIntosh & Ryan (2007)

Identifying what aspects of culture attract → willingness, ability & appropriateness to provide (Williams & O’Neill (2007)

Often portrayals reinforce a ‘primitivist’ discourse Deutschlander & Miller (2003)

Spiritual or Nature themedTourists often cast as

‘adventurers’ or ‘seekers’

Waitt (2007)

Multiple ‘gatekeepers’ involved eg. On-site guides, family, friends, media, tour operators, tour wholesalers, travel agents, etc.

Influenced by the amount of information & misinformation the Tourist bringsUluru (Ayer’s Rock)

climbAccess to Pueblo

residence areasImage realignment to

counter distorted images

McKercher & du Cros (2009); Schmlechen & Boyle (2007)

Euro-Canadian Settler society________________________

Aboriginal society- “The Imaginary Indian”

Rests on a notion of mutual exclusivity

Often a moral high ground that can be re-positioned

Deutschlander & Miller (2003)

The ‘visibility project’ (Newhouse et al, 2005)Critical examination & rewriteComplete the landscape

Extending our gaze beyond the comfortable and accepted history

Focusing on the boundaries that have been created and de-constructing them

Shrinking the space between our stories

Weatherford (1988) described a Settler America based on the ‘material and cultural base’ of aboriginal people

A managed landscape with blazed trails; not a untamed wilderness

Cultivated crops (3/5ths of those currently used in the world) that became staples of the old world: potatoes, corn, tomatoes, peanuts, cassava, beans, peppers, chocolate, etc.

Rich plant based Pharmacology e.g. quinine, Novocain

Silver currencyConfederated governance

models

Aboriginal Contribution and engagement in the public sphere currently essential to the international picture of Canada

Our artists’ work almost iconic e.g. Bill Reid, Roy Henry Vickers, Allen Sapp, Norval Morrisseau, many Inuit carvers

Renowned athletes e.g. Alwyn Morris, Shirley Firth, Waneek Horn Miller; George Armstrong, Brian Trottier, Kerry Price, Richard Peter

War heroes e.g. Tommy Prince, Brigadier Oliver Martin, David Greyeyes, Francis Pegahmagabow

Media stars e.g. Gary Farmer, Robbie Robertson, Tom Jackson, Adam Beach, Tina Keeper, Graham Greene

Politicians e.g. Elijah Harper, Charlie Watt, Ethel Blondin-Andrew

Cowboys Skill with horses made it

logical Architects

Unique designs of Douglas Cardinal

Court Judges 16 currently across Canada; I a

leading candidate for Supreme Court

Classical & jazz musicians Don Ross; John Bell

Business Leaders Jack Poole; Leonard Flett

Lieutenant Governors B.C.; Manitoba; Ontario

University Chancellors VIU; UCN; OCAD

Indian modernity almost a secret history (Deloria, 2004)

Participation in the formation of Canada ignored

Many aboriginal people challenged the script that described a status quo of ‘failure’ and some innate limitation of aboriginal people

Even as governments worked hard to restrict participation in the public sphere, aboriginal people engaged in literature (Pauline Johnson), sports (Tom Longboat, Jim Thorpe), politics (Maxime Goulet, Frank Calder ), entertainment (Will Rodgers) etc.

Example of PortrayalsAboriginal Australia Australia: Come

WalkaboutFour Host First Nations

Welcome for OlympicsAboriginal Culture in

British Columbia Tourisme Autochtone

Québec NemaskaThe Voice Of The Navajo

Deloria, P. (2004). Indians in Unexpected Places. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

Newhouse, D., Voyageur, C. & Beavon, D. (Eds).(2005). Hidden in Plain Sight: Contributions of Aboriginal Peoples to Canadian Identity and Culture. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto.

King, T. (2003). The Truth About Stories. Toronto, ON: Anansi. McKercher, B. & du Cros, H. (2009). Cultural Tourism: The

Partnership between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management. New York, NY: Routledge.

Medina, L. (2003). Commoditizing Culture: Tourism and Maya Identity. Annals of Tourism Research. 30 (2): 353-368.

Waitt, G. (1999). Naturalizing the ‘primitive’: A critique of marketing Australia’s indigenous peoples as ‘hunter-gatherers’. Tourism Geographies. 1 (2): 142-163.

Weatherford, J. (1988). Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World. New York, NY: Fawcett Columbine.