‘Alaska’s sleeping giant:’ Native cultural tourism offers unique opportunities

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Offering people authentic cultural tourism experiences in Alaska means rethinking a key element of how the state has long been marketed, Emily Edenshaw, president and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage, told a convention hall filled with industry representatives earlier this month.

“Alaska is not ‘The Last Frontier,’” she said. “Alaska always has been and always will be a Native place, and that’s something to be celebrated. You can’t get that anywhere else.”

Edenshaw was among five Alaska Native tourism leaders offering a different perspective on the state’s visitor industry during a panel discussion about cultural tourism presented at the Alaska Travel Industry Association convention.

She recommended focusing on a human-centered approach instead of impersonal organizations by including cultural values in business practices. She acknowledged their business mentors are “elders, aunties and culture bearers.”

Similarly, Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Economic Development Director Camille Ferguson urged people to utilize their valuable elders. She also cited important legislation passed in 2016 by U.S. Congress titled the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act or NATIVE Act. It requires federal agencies with tourism or travel functions to include tribal organizations in their management plans. She mentioned U.S. Forest Service grants.

Edenshaw said this year the Forest Service partnered with the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska to create an ambassador program at the Forest Service’s Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.

“It’s an example of a good public-private partnership,” she said.

Cultural tourism is “the sleeping giant in Alaska,” Edenshaw said. “Visitors want an authentic experience.” She urged convention participants to “fold in Alaska’s people” with their tour operations.

“Alaska has the largest number of tribes — 225 — in the country,” she said. “Reach out and partner with them.”

Near Hoonah, Alaska, cable cars at the indigenous-owned Icy Strait Point share expansive views.

Ferguson emphasized the need to involve Native youth to tell the stories themselves and said a career path in tourism would be beneficial.

She said she was inspired to get more involved in marketing cultural tourism after a conversation with visitors in Sitka who thought the town’s only history was Russian American.

“The ship tourists did not know there were Native people in Sitka,” she said.

Rather than marketing designations as “The Last Frontier,” panelists suggested thinking of “new narratives” including Indigenous people with long histories. Zach Dunlap, operations manager for Alaska Native Corporation Doyon, recommended looking to the future while “not overcommercializing” ventures.

Cultural tourism helps with “breaking down racism across the world and builds tolerance,” said panelist McHugh Pierre, Goldbelt Inc. President and CEO.

“It provides more than a good time” for visitors, he added. He gave the example of changing the name of Juneau’s aerial tram from Mount Roberts Tram to Goldbelt Tram in keeping with his organization’s cultural theme.

Pierre mentioned the impact cultural tourism has had on Hoonah residents with the development of Icy Strait Point, celebrating 20 years since opening in 2004. The Native culture is integrated into all aspects of the facility’s offerings whether ziprider tours or watching bears.

Goldbelt and Royal Caribbean Group last week announced plans for a similar project in west Douglas that would include a two-ship floating dock and “a recreated 1800s Alaska Native Tlingit village.”

Panelists recognized the need for more funding for the Alaska Travel Industry Association to build cultural tourism. The economic return comes with visitors staying longer and spending more money in the state. Workforce training would be helped with increased funding as well.

General ideas from the panelists included inviting tribes into business discussions, building up Native-owned businesses and making funding more accessible for Native tour operations. They recommended that non-Native tour operators learn how to avoid appropriating Native art, stories or histories without clan permission.

A key concern for the future is creating a law to prevent fake Indigenous objects from being marketed as authentic Native crafts.

Panelist Susan Bell, a longtime Juneau tourism professional and currently vice president of Strategic Initiatives for Huna Totem Corp., said the tour market has changed from when she began her career. Years ago visitors were content to ride buses to explore Alaska. Today, guests want active, diverse and enriched experiences. She suggests developing a “Native curated itinerary” for visitors.

Likewise, Pierre said visitors desire “tangible” memories. They want to see totem poles being carved and traditional weaving being done, and they want to take home items with cultural meaning.

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