Cultural asset mapping as a foundation for developing a Grand Council Treaty #3-led Ecotourism Strategy

Abstract

Learning about the existing assets and tourism activities present in Treaty #3 territory of the Anishinaabe Nation and considering their deep and meaningful understanding and relationship with the environment can help lay the foundation for developing a Grand Council Treaty #3-led Ecotourism Strategy. Identifying opportunities for the development and growth of ecotourism initiatives and strategies, may prevent the loss of the valuable Ancestral knowledge. Through a comprehensive website review, 52 tourism operators identified as “Indigenous-owned” were found and contacted via email, resulting in one group interview and 3 individual interviews. The results indicate that 15 of the Indigenous-owned tourism operators, including Metis-owned operators showed some interest in the project. The importance of enhancing cultural experiences, the creation of growth and development opportunites and the need of creating a communication network were also some of the key findings of this project. The recommendations made here include the promotion of a list and a map of the Indigenous-owned tourism operators in the territory, the creation of a communication network among the operators and with GCT#3, finding ways to involve youth in tourism and organise consultations with the communities. The key factor for the success in the development and implementation of the strategy is to achieve a high participation and involvement of the community.