1. travel
2. specialty travel
3. ecotourism

Uppsala universitet
Forskarskolan i Geografi
Living with tourism
Perspectives of Indigenous communities
in Québec, Canada
Teresa Miranda Maureira
Licentiate thesis to be presented at Uppsala University, Ekonomikum, room H432, Uppsala
on Thursday, January 29 2015 at 13:15. The examination will be conducted in Swedish.
Abstract
Miranda Maureira, T. 2014: Living with tourism: Perspectives of Indigenous communities in
Québec, Canada. Forskarskolan i Geografi. 43 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-506-2456-4
This study focuses on the transformation process and reshaping of Indigenous tourism in
Québec, Canada, using an ethnographic approach and methods. The central aim is to understand how Indigenous communities are affected by the development of Indigenous tourism
and how they deal with this development. Three concepts are elaborated upon: resilience,
performance of authenticity and representation of territory. The present study aims to show
that these concepts are interconnected and crucial to the discussion of sustainable development. In this study it is important to not merely view Indigenous peoples as people affected by
tourism but primarily as individuals who are involved in shaping Indigenous tourism in their
communities. This work discusses a process in which society, communities and the Indigenous tourism industry are changing and transforming. I have shown how the dimensions of
sustainable development can interact with place-specific conditions and are of importance for
the Indigenous communities in Québec.
Keywords: Indigenous tourism, sustainable development, ethnography, resilience,
authenticity, representation of territory, gender, Québec, Canada
Teresa Miranda Maureira, Uppsala University, Department of Social and Economic
Geography, Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden.
© Teresa Miranda Maureira 2015
ISBN 978-91-506-2456-4
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-247422 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-247422)
To Manne and Klara
List of papers
This thesis is based on the following papers, which are referred to in the text
by their Roman numerals.
I
II
III
Miranda Maureira, T., Stenbacka, S. Indigenous tourism and
processes of resilience.
Heldt Cassel, S., Miranda Maureira, T. Performing identity and
Culture in Indigenous tourism – a study of Tourism in Indigenous Communities in Québec, Canada.
Miranda Maureira, T., Pashkevich, A. Experiencing Indigenous
territories in Canadian and Russian Arctic: implications for
tourism development and practices.
Acknowledgements
Writing is pain. During this period of research, I have learnt a great deal
about how to write a good thesis, how time consuming it is and how important words are. How to not give up. How to write and rewrite the same
text to make it more understandable. I had also the opportunity to improve
my English and learn French. To visit new areas, meet new peoples and
spend two years in Québec. A great city and region.
Thanks to my supervisors Susanne Stenbacka, Susanna Heldt-Cassel and
Albina Pashkevich. You have provided me with a lot of input and support. I
thank you for pointing out which questions to ask and for teaching me how
to answer them. I feel very privileged to have worked with all of you.
I also want to thank several Indigenous peoples that have welcomed me
and shared numerous experiences, teachings, and time. Without you, this
licentiate thesis would never have been written. Tiawenhk! Miikweech!
Tshinashkumitin!
I would like to thank all my new academic friends in Québec for taking
the time to provide information and advice when I needed it. Caroline Desbiens, Frédéric Lasserre and Bastien Sepulveda, Merci! ¡Gracias!
Financial support from the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography (Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi) is gratefully
acknowledged for making the field work possible.
Sincere thanks also to my family, who provide constant encouragement.
Tack, tusen tack! to Kalle, Manne and Klara, who supported me through the
countless hours spent walking, skiing, and playing on the Plaines d’Abraham
and also when we returned to Uppsala, by giving me their time and love.
Kalle, thanks for the inspiration, contributions and for being a good listener.
Uppsala, 26 December 2014
Abbreviations
CAD
CDEPNQL
INAC
NWAC
RCAP
STI
TAQ
WCED
Canadian dollar
Commission de développement économique des Premières
Nations du Québec et du Labrador
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Native Women’s Association in Canada
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
Société touristique Innu
Tourisme Autochtone Québec
World Commission on Environment and Development
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................... 11 Indigenous tourism and development....................................................... 11 Terminology ........................................................................................ 12 Sustainable development and tourism ................................................. 13 Purpose and outline of the thesis .............................................................. 14 Delimitations ............................................................................................ 15 Indigenous tourism in Québec ...................................................................... 16 Indigenous communities in Québec – writing a local context ................. 16 A young sector ..................................................................................... 17 Two main areas of tourism .................................................................. 17 Sustainable development, communities and Indigenous tourism ................. 19 Resilience in the context of Indigenous tourism ...................................... 20 Performance and authenticity in Indigenous tourism ............................... 21 Representation of territory in Indigenous tourism.................................... 23 Methods ........................................................................................................ 24 Methodologies in Indigenous research ..................................................... 25 Indigenous practices ............................................................................ 26 Ethical research methodology.............................................................. 27 My position as researcher ......................................................................... 28 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 30 Connecting resilience, representation and authenticity ............................ 31 Summary of articles ................................................................................. 33 Recommendations for further research .................................................... 35 References ..................................................................................................... 37 Introduction
Indigenous tourism and development
When I arrived in Québec I came as an ordinary tourist – everything was
new, including the language. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to
study the involvement of Indigenous people in the Indigenous tourism industry. But I was unsure of exactly how to start this work or how to get in contact with Indigenous communities. The first thing I had to do was to visit the
tourist office in Vieux Québec (Old Québec). On the way there, on a sunny
day at the end of July, my family and I were stopped by a tourist officer who
was giving tourists maps of the city. I can imagine that we really looked like
tourists at the time. Since we did not know much about Québec and what we
could do in the city, we talked to the tourist officer for a long time and she
told me that just 20 minutes from Québec City, there was an Indigenous
community that offered a wide variety of tourist activities. I started to ask
some questions about how to get there and we exchanged email addresses
with one another. After a few days she contacted me and we met. She ended
up being my first friend in Québec, and she was the person who gave me
contact information for Tourisme Autochtone Québec. After a few days I
visited the nearby Indigenous community to observe and participate in some
of their tourist activities. So, in my first contact with Indigenous tourism, I
was just an ordinary tourist.
Since the development of modern leisure travel, interest and curiosity in
experiencing different cultures has grown around the world (Boyd, 2002;
Richards, 2007), and the cultures and traditions of Indigenous peoples have
become important in the promotion of tourist destinations (Butler & Hinch,
1996, 2007; Ryan, 2005). Indigenous tourism became a hot new topic nationwide in the early 1990s (Notzke, 2004). Indigenous tourism “refers to
tourism in which Aboriginal people are directly involved in the provision of
the attraction, either through control and/or by having their culture serve as
the essence of the attraction” (Butler & Hinch, 1996: 9). The variety of tourist attractions and venues that could be labelled Indigenous tourism products
is considerably wide, from the simple act of selling handmade souvenirs to
walking tours with Indigenous guides. According to Bresner (2010) it is
clear that in the case of Indigenous tourism, people who are marginalised
and culturally separate from the wider population are the main attraction.
11
An employee at Québec tourism centre said that Indigenous tourism plays
a significant role in Québec’s current tourism branding and is seen as a key
regional competitive advantage (employee at Québec tourism centre, 2013).
The Indigenous tourism industry is the sixth-largest Indigenous industry in
Québec according to Commission de développement économique des
Premières Nations du Québec et du Labrador (CDEPNQL) (2014). With
economic revenues of approximately CAD 169 million per year, Indigenous
tourism in Québec generates nearly 3,500 jobs in more than 150 companies
and attracts 816,000 visitors annually (Tourism Autochthone Québec, 2014).
This needs to be investigated further in relation to issues of power, sustainable development, stereotypes and Indigenous identities.
Terminology
The terms ‘Indian’, ‘Aboriginal’, ‘First Nations’, ‘Indigenous’, ‘Native’,
‘Méstis’ and ‘Inuit’ are all labels that appear in media, literature, academic
writing, policy documents and everyday conversation. In Canada all these
terms are used and they all have different meanings. For example, the term
‘Indian’ is used by Indigenous people themselves but if a non-Indigenous
person uses the term, it is often considered offensive by Indigenous Canadians (Warry, 2008). In Canada, the term ‘Indian’ is also a legal term. It is
used to signify those people the Canadian government recognises as having
Indian status. ‘Non-status Indian’ is used to refer to Indigenous persons who
are not recognised under the Indian Act (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern
Development Canada, 2014).
‘Aboriginal’ is another term that is used by the government when talking
about all Indigenous persons, both status and non-status Indians (ibid.). According to Warry (2008) the term is the most appropriate and has formal
standing in the 1982 Constitution Act. The problem with this term is that it
obscures the differences between the various Indigenous nations (Royal
Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), 1996). The term ‘First Nation(s)’ is used as it has political and legal significance and is used widely
among Indigenous peoples within Canada (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern
Development Canada, 2014). The use of the term ‘Native’ has been avoided
in this study as it tends to obscure the fact that there are many Canadians
who consider themselves native to Canada (RCAP, 1996).
In Canada it has been hard to find an acceptable common name due to the
fact that there are hundreds of distinct Indigenous peoples. Each of these
Indigenous peoples has its own name, language, ancestral land and culture
(Lepage, 2005). The term ‘Indigenous’ will be used throughout the text. This
is an international term that reflects those peoples the term is meant to identify, because the term ‘Indigenous’ encompasses many different nations
(Nozedar, 2012). This is an important consideration in this thesis since it is
12
about four Indigenous nations that share similar experiences but at the same
time are distinct peoples and should be recognised as such.
Sustainable development and tourism
Over the past two decades, the role of Indigenous peoples in tourism has
been debated and discussed in both academic and policy contexts (Nielsen,
2010). Many researchers agree that Indigenous communities must control
and drive their own involvement if they want to achieve sustainability
(Graci, 2012; Butler & Hinch, 2007; Ryan & Aicken, 2005). The introduction of sustainable Indigenous tourism presents opportunities for economic
growth, better education, higher standards of living and the chance for Indigenous peoples to define themselves, their culture and their identity. Indigenous tourism has functioned as an engine for job opportunities, a sense of
responsibility and empowerment (Graci, 2012; McIntosh, 2004; Telfer,
2002) and is believed to support biodiversity conservation and the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage (Graci, 2012).
It is important not to view Indigenous tourism as a simple solution to
problems in the communities as it can have both positive and negative impacts (Bresner, 2010; Hall & Page, 2002; Nielsen, 2010). According to Pettersson (2004) the positive and negative outcomes can be difficult to determine, depending on whether a short or long-term perspective is taken.
Sustainable development is a concept that is frequently used in relation to
tourism development, especially when talking about Indigenous tourism
development. As in many other societies, Indigenous communities are not
homogenous. Peoples have different opinions and positions. There are hierarchies, structures, prejudices and social norms that favour some people and
marginalise others. Gender plays an important role in social relationships
and the structure of the communities and thus affects the positions of individuals in society, as well as their identities. A part of sustainable development is connected to gender issues. The link between gender and sustainable
development is particularly evident in paper I, which deals with resilience.
Morgan & Pritchard (1998) claim that it is necessary to make the connection between gender and tourism as tourism is a product of a genderised
society. Tourism development can produce important economic, cultural,
political and social changes. It may reconfirm existing gender constructs but
it may also offer opportunities and challenge local communities to initiate
changes (Wilson & Ypeij, 2012). Stenbacka (2008) argues that labour market restructuring and economic transformation does not necessarily improve
gender relations where labour or gender equality is concerned. For example,
the tourism industry tends to be a feminised sector of the economy in which
women often constitute the majority of the workforce (Möller, 2009). However, the majority of the new, better-paid jobs in the tourism industry go to
13
men (Little, 2002; McDowell, 1999; Möller, 2009). Some work will seem
typically masculine or feminine, and norms are affected by social and cultural factors. According to Möller (2009) and Lindeborg (2012) local conditions for everyday life are affected by social and cultural factors that have
been established over time. Möller (2009) argues that tourism is no exception when it comes to producing and reproducing existing gender patterns
within society along with social inequalities, such as those relating to class
and ethnicity (see also Lindeborg, 2012). This means that tourism work reflects gender roles in society.
Gender and community structures have been transformed since the introduction of Indigenous tourism. These transformations have affected the three
dimensions of sustainable development: the social, economic and ecological
components. This study will examine the sociocultural and economic elements of sustainable development and contribute to the research on sustainable tourism by analysing sustainability in relation to Indigenous tourism,
which is a growing industry in Québec today.
Purpose and outline of the thesis
The overall aim of this thesis is to understand how Indigenous communities
are affected by Indigenous tourism development, and how they deal with this
development. This study analyses narratives and actions to understand the
shaping of Indigenous tourism, along with its effects on the lives of individuals and the strategies and practices of communities within Indigenous tourism.
This thesis is based on three articles, which examine the following questions:



How does the development of Indigenous tourism relate to individual and community resilience?
How is traditional territory utilised in tourism development?
How is the production of Indigenous tourism described and experienced by different members of the community?
This thesis is based on three papers linked to this introductory section, which
states the purpose of the study. It also contains a brief description of the Indigenous peoples in Canada and Québec. A theoretical overview of Indigenous tourism and sustainable development is included, as well as a brief
description of the theoretical concepts used in the three studies. Further, a
description of the methods is presented. The introductory section ends with a
concluding discussion and some proposals for further research.
14
Delimitations
Within the multifaceted field of tourism research, the focus of this thesis is
on Indigenous people who are somehow involved in Indigenous tourism.
Both those who work with planning, coordination and developing political
and social initiatives in the communities and organisations, and those who
work with the business as hosts, guides, in shops, as museum personal and as
musicians and artists are of importance to the study. The individuals who
participated in the study were both Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals working both in nature-based and culturally based tourism.
Throughout the thesis, the terms ‘Indigenous’ and ‘non-Indigenous’ are
used. The term ‘Indigenous’ refers to communities and groups of peoples
that from a legal point of view have fallen either within the purview of the
Indian Act1 and/or of the colonial policies enacted by the Canadian and Québec government. The term ‘non-Indigenous’ refers to the demographic majority in Québec, which encompasses a variety of cultural backgrounds:
French, English and other immigrants of various international origins (Desbiens & Rivard, 2014).
This thesis is based on interviews with mostly Indigenous peoples from
various tribes in Québec: Innu, Cree (Eeyou), Wôbanaki (Abénakis) and
Hurons (Wendat). Also, observations and participatory observations are used
in the study. According to Cook (2005) using observations as a tool helps to
generate a holistic understanding of the occurrences and to increase the validity of the study when interviews are used together with the observations.
The research brings up issues regarding the motivation, experiences and
interactions of Indigenous peoples. Some of these tribes are located in the
North territories, (sub-Arctic tundra communities) while others are located in
the South territories of the region of Québec.
1
The Indian Act (passed in 1876 and revised in 1956) sets out an important framework for the
lives of Indigenous peoples. The Indian Act decides who has Indian status or not and it constitutes the law that decides how the Indigenous peoples of Canada should be treated and what
rights they have in Canadian society. It thus differentiates the Indigenous peoples from each
other, deciding political status and cultural identity (Warry, 2007). The Indian Act is a Canadian federal law that governs in matters relating to Indian status, bands and Indian reserves. It
is administered by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The Act defines special
rights and exceptions for the Indigenous population. For example Bill C-31 decides who will
be a status or non-status Indian. Another example is that the Indian Act sets the parameters for
the administration of Indian monies and property. Besides this the Act defines the land holding regime and band administration regime (Government of Canada, 2014).
15
Indigenous tourism in Québec
Indigenous communities in Québec – writing a local
context
In the province of Québec there are eleven linguistically and culturally distinct Indigenous nations, living in 55 villages scattered over 1.6 million km2
between the 45th and 62nd parallels (Secrétariat aux affaires Autochtones du
Québec, 2011). Almost 90,000 Indigenous peoples (by self-identification)
live in the Québec region, half of them under 25 years of age (Statistics Canada, 2013). About one-fifth of Canadians who claim an Indigenous language
as their mother tongue live in Québec, and the province has the highest
number of Indigenous peoples who claim an Indigenous language as their
mother tongue (Curtis, 2012).
Indigenous peoples (by self-identification in 2011) represent almost
1,500,000 people or 4.3% of Canada’s population (Statistic Canada, 2014a).
Among the total Indigenous population, 60.8% identify as First Nations,
32.3% identify as Métis (mixed First Nations and European heritage), and
4.2% identify as Inuit. The Indigenous populations have increased by
232,385 people or 20.1% between 2006 and 2011 compared with 5.2% for
the non-Indigenous population (ibid.).
The census data show that the Indigenous population in Canada has
grown very rapidly; in the 2006 census the Indigenous population accounted
for 3.8% of the population enumerated, 3.3% in the 2001 census and 2.8% in
the 1996 census (Statistic Canada, 2014a). It is projected that by 2031, the
Indigenous population will comprise approximately 4.0–5.3% of the Canadian population (Statistic Canada, 2014b). Half of the Indigenous peoples in
Canada live in urban areas (Newhouse & Peters, 2003). Some communities
are practically completely urban, such as the Huron-Wendat in Wendake, a
reserve just some minutes away from Québec City.
Warry (2007) argue that the non-Indigenous Canadians often present the
Indigenous communities as an obstacle in the path of economic progress for
the country and thus advocate for assimilation or integration of Indigenous
peoples into mainstream society. The reality for many First Nation peoples
in Canada today is high unemployment and low education levels (Lepage
2005; Quinless, 2012; Warry, 2007; Wilson & Macdonald, 2010). Indigenous culture in Canada has even been called the culture of poverty according
to Frideres (1998). Investigations have shown that the socio-economic con16
ditions of Indigenous peoples in Canada are below the national average, and
the crisis facing Indigenous communities is often highlighted in the media.
Over the years, federal and provincial governments have introduced many
policies and programmes aiming to alleviate social problems through economic development (Warry, 2007). At the same time, Indigenous communities have expressed a desire to play a greater role in economic development
through the creation of Indigenous businesses.
A young sector
In Québec, the Indigenous tourism industry is relatively young. From the
1970s, Canadian travel agencies and European organised tours started to
make stops in reserves so that tourists could buy crafts and see “the Indians”.
Until the late 1980s, Indigenous tourism in Québec was in the hands of nonIndigenous; Indigenous peoples, mostly Indigenous men, were only hired as
guides (Hérber, 2008). In the early 1990s, Indigenous entrepreneurs started
to pay attention to the financial benefits of tourism that could benefit their
communities (ibid.). The first Indigenous tourism corporation was founded
in 1991, Société Touristique Innu (STI). STI focused on cultural tourism and
adventure tourism (Tourisme Autochtone Québec, 2012). In 1998 Tourisme
Autochtone Québec, TAQ, (Aboriginal Tourism Québec) started to assist
Indigenous businesses in the development and promotion of their offering.
Even today it is still an organisation that helps communities to develop their
tourism industry. Today, Indigenous tourism is independent, and Indigenous
operators are experimenting with autonomous forms of tourism development
that are more in line with their values.
Two main areas of tourism
According to Delisle (1998), there are two types of Indigenous attractions in
Québec. The first one concerns the life and culture of Indigenous peoples.
This category of attractions can include museums, restored sites and craft
shops. Such attractions have a large number of visitors per year. The second
type focuses on adventure tourism. It is intended for small groups of travellers interested in cultural exchange, experimentation and learning. The tourists usually stay in the area for some days. Adventure tourism attracts fewer
visitors, often intentionally, since accommodating fewer tourists results in
better experiences. However, this kind of tourism implies greater communication and more rewarding cultural exchange between the visitor and the
host (ibid.).
In remote locations many of the Indigenous tourism entrepreneurs work
in joint ventures between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous (Fraser,
2002). According to Graci (2010) joint ventures are common in Canada. In
17
this study only two out of eight businesses were joint ventures. Both these
businesses were active in the area of eco-tourism.
18
Sustainable development, communities and
Indigenous tourism
Sustainable development is a recurring theme in this study. I discuss the
concept from different perspectives in the three papers. This section serves
as an introduction to the theoretical framework.
Sustainable tourism is based upon the principles of sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development was introduced by the Brundtland Commission in 1987 as part of the report Our Common Future. Sustainable development was specified as “development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs” (WCED, 1987:47). According to Soini & Birkeland (2014)
the definition refers to global and intra-generational equality. In the present
study, sustainable development is an important concept due to the fact that
tourism is a phenomenon that has noticeable effects on all dimensions of
sustainable development. Sustainable development is often considered to
consist of environmental (ecological), economic and social dimensions.
Nowadays, sustainable development can be linked to almost all scales of
tourism activities (Clarke, 1997).
Many researchers and development agencies (such as UNESCO and
UCLG, United Cities and Local Governments) have discussed the importance of considering culture as a part of sustainable development (Thorsby, 2008). Soini & Birkeland (2014) argue that even today culture is still not
a dimension of sustainable development and it has not been included in sustainable development policies and practices. In relation to tourism development, sustainability often enters the discussion regarding different forms of
tourism and their impact. The growing need for sustainable development has
generated greater knowledge and concern about the impact of tourism and
environmental issues in general (Holden, 2003). Several alternative types of
tourism, such as cultural tourism and ecotourism, have been introduced as
being more sustainable and beneficial for the local population and communities (Brohman, 1996; Mowfort & Munt, 1998; Scheyvens, 2002). Indigenous
tourism is often linked to both cultural tourism and ecotourism.
Indigenous tourism as a form of community-based tourism is often recognised as a good example of sustainable tourism development. The reason for
this is mainly that local communities and community members participate in
the development and implementation of such projects, and that the whole
19
community benefits from the projects (Brohman, 1996; Graci, 2012). According to many researchers, there are several recurring features of community-based tourism. Community-based tourism is viewed as being less harmful to the social and cultural environment as the local populations decide on
the cultural aspects they wish to share with the tourists. Another point is that
community-based tourism has less negative impact on the environment as
community members are often skilled in judging the limits of the local environment (Brohman, 1996; Colton & Whitney-Squire, 2010; Graci, 2010,
2012; Zeppel, 2006). The fact that most community-based tourism is conducted on a small scale also means that only a small number of tourists will
visit and will therefore not have a major negative economic, social, cultural
or environmental impact (ibid.). According to Goodwin (2011) communitybased tourism is a very popular form of sustainable tourism that has rarely
been critically studied. One study that has a critical aspect was carried out by
Fennell (2008). Fennell (2008) argues that Indigenous eco-tourism has a
negative impact since many Indigenous communities overexploit their environment. He said that eco-tourism gives a greater sense of sustainability than
is justified in reality and that not all community members benefit from tourism (Fennell, 2008). Graci (2010) has identified some potential obstacles to
community-based Indigenous tourism, such as a lack of trust, corruption and
support from community members; and a lack of leadership and support
from outside agencies.
In this study, the concepts that will be used to achieve an understanding
of the processes evident in the development of sustainable tourism are resilience, performance and authenticity, and representation of territory, which
are explained below. The present study aims to show that these concepts are
interconnected and are important in the discussion of sustainable development.
During recent years there has been a growing amount of literature focusing on the role of Indigenous communities in tourism development. However, very few studies have explored the connections between resilience, authenticity and representation of territory within geography, gender relations
and Indigenous tourism studies. In this study, Indigenous tourism development is understood in the context of everyday life among the actors involved: the Indigenous communities and Indigenous men and women. I hope
that this research will help in gaining a holistic understanding of the participation of Indigenous communities in tourism.
Resilience in the context of Indigenous tourism
In the study I use the term ‘resilience’ to describe how Indigenous communities deal with changes and continue to develop. The term ‘resilience’ was
first used in relation to ecological systems in the early 1970s. In the late
20
1980s the concept was linked to social systems and in the early 1990s to
economic systems (Nuorteva, 2009). This means that the current concept of
resilience thus corresponds to the three dimensions of sustainable development: ecological (environment), social and economic. Walker et al. (2002)
define resilience as the degree to which a system is capable of learning and
adapting to new solutions. Folke (2006) argues that resilience provides a link
to adaptive capacity, which he defines as the ability of socio-ecological systems to cope with new situations without jeopardising options for the future.
In the context of this study, resilience of the Indigenous communities is assessed as their capacity to adapt to different changes. Resilience thinking
focuses on the amount of change and in what ways social systems are capable of adapting to these changes (Nuorteva, 2009). It highlights the interconnectivity between ecological, social and economic systems, which impact the
livelihood of the people involved.
According to Nuorteva (2009) and Ruiz-Ballesteros (2011) the resilience
of the social system is closely linked to ecological resilience, particularly
regarding communities where the livelihood of the people depends on natural resources, as is the case for many of the Indigenous communities in Québec. Folke (2006) and Walker et al. (2002) argue that economic and social
diversity in the communities can contribute to resilience as they encourage
adaptation and learning. According to Ungar, resilience involves both individual capacity and collective capacity in terms of offering a certain context:
“resilience must be the result of both personal capacities and social, cultural
and political assets” (Ungar, 2003). This seems to be valid for Indigenous
tourism: the individuals who run a business are dependent upon the social,
cultural and political context. Individual entrepreneurs are dependent upon
the social relations in the community and the willingness of others to cooperate. Sapountzaki (2007) emphasises that the social resilience of communities is not equal to individual resilience as resilience may decrease the vulnerability of some stakeholders and increase that of others.
Paper I discusses resilience and how the communities deal with changes.
Resilience is linked to biodiversity and economic, social and cultural features in all societies, including Indigenous societies. All these features are
relevant in the development of Indigenous tourism. The aim of this article is
to provide a better understanding of Indigenous tourism from mainly a
communicative resilience point of view.
Performance and authenticity in Indigenous tourism
In paper II the concepts of performance and authenticity are used to analyse
the ways in which Indigenous tourism affects representations of identity and
culture. For many Indigenous communities, sustainable development is an
important way to obtain cultural integrity and the ability to present them21
selves in a way that recognises their place in the modern world (Charest,
2008). Many Indigenous communities in Québec are working to develop a
sustainable tourism industry that provides economic benefits, without sacrificing their social, cultural and environmental integrity (Iankova, 2005,
2008). I will argue that Indigenous communities are trying to find a connection between culture, authenticity, performance and sustainable development.
Community participation in tourism development is one of the key principles of sustainable tourism. According to Smith (1991) common territory,
economy, history, culture, rights, community responsibilities and language
are elements that help to construct a national identity or community identity
(Ruiz Ballesteros & Hernández Ramírez, 2006). Pomering & White (2011)
argue that nations have been defined as imagined political communities because “members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their
fellow members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each
lives the image of their communion” (Anderson, 1991:6). Identity is then a
relationship through family, friends and neighbours, rather than through a
relationship with the entire nation (Palmer, 1999). Individuals will come to
identify themselves in relation to a nation composed of people with similar
ways of behaving, communicating and thinking (Gallant, 1998; Palmer,
1999).
Bunten (2008) believes that Indigenous tourism is almost always connected to cultural dominance as a means of servicing a political identity that is of
concern to the Indigenous population, such as retaining or reclaiming history, representation, land rights and political power. Cultural dominance is
proof of authenticity based on a historical line of continued tradition, and
authenticity is used to justify identity and add value to the cultural tourism
experience (Bunten, 2008). Tourist workers are often observed as actors who
perform their identities and culture for tourists (Edensor, 2001), and a distinction is made between the performed identity and the real identity that is
not presented to tourists (Stronza, 2008). According to Stronza, Indigenous
people know what is real or performed even if they manipulate their culture
to attract more tourists. When many of the tourist activities are packaged and
staged for mass consumption, cultural practices are then being commoditised. Tourism studies have disputed the definition of authenticity as objective, original or real. Instead, the concept of authenticity is a socially constructed value that is negotiated and experienced in different tourism contexts (Cohen, 1988; Cohen & Cohen, 2012; Wang, 1999). The present article
aims to show that authenticity and performance are results of social and cultural constructions.
22
Representation of territory in Indigenous tourism
Indigenous culture and territory have constituted an important source for
tourism development. These resources represent an important aspect of Indigenous tourism and are used to attract tourists. Representation and Indigenous territory are important keywords in paper III as they form an important
part of the construction of how individuals see themselves and how others
should perceive them.
In Canada the Indigenous communities have focused sharply on land and
cultural traditions (Battiste & Henderson, 2000). Land plays an important
role in people’s everyday lives and is crucial to First Nation, Inuit and Innu
land claims in Canada (Pollock, 2009). According to Natcher (2001) “the
concept of territory is arguably the defining element in Aboriginal culture.
Representing not only the geographical space from which Aboriginal peoples acquire much of their subsistence needs, territory also represents a continuum of cultural identity that links the past to the present and the present to
the future” (Natcher, 2001: 59-60). Indigenous cultures and traditions have a
strong bond to their natural environment.
Indigenous territories are often located in rural and remote areas, are high
in biodiversity, wildlife and scenic values, and are a focal point for traditional life and cultural practices such as ceremonies, music and art (Zeppel,
2006; Pollock, 2009). For these reasons Indigenous territories are among the
most significant for cultural and nature tourism (Zeppel, 2006). In Québec,
Indigenous nature tourism companies offer guided hunting and fishing trips
in traditional territories that are complemented by cultural history, traditional
food, environmental knowledge and traditional lifestyle tours. Many Indigenous people are using tourism to strengthen their identity, make the wider
society aware of their position, and claim their status and rights (Bunten,
2008; Pitchford, 2008). According to Zeppel (2006) opening up Indigenous
homelands to nature and cultural tourism involves establishing a balance
between using natural resources, meeting the needs of tourists and maintaining cultural integrity.
Representation is not only associated with territory but also with the representation of people. People are a central component of how a place is presented. Images of Indigenous peoples in connection to the territory they occupy are commonly used in promotional tourist literature. The promotional
material creates images that may or may not be representative but the images
are important for attracting tourists. In paper III, I will discuss how the representation of Indigenous territories is used to promote tourism practices and
experiences. Paper III is a case study that compares Canadian Innu and Russian Nenets.
23
Methods
This section provides a description of the principal methods used in the thesis. Field research was conducted between September 2012 and November
2013 (consisting of several one to two-week trips and several visits of a
shorter duration to four different communities). The main methods of this
study are ethnographic. Such methods provide an insight into cultural practices, human behaviour and socio-cultural changes over time (Kvale &
Brinkman, 2009). Semi-structured interviews and participant observations
were the primary methods used. In total 17 semi-structured interviews were
conducted with Indigenous peoples from different tribes in Québec. Two of
the 17 respondents were non-Indigenous people who work with Indigenous
tourism. One was the museum director of a community museum while the
other had Indian status by marriage with an Indigenous man. Three of the
respondents work indirectly with Indigenous tourism: a community chief, a
member of a band council2 and a development advisor for Tourisme Autochtone Québec. The other respondents were Indigenous entrepreneurs and individuals working within Indigenous tourism. A tape recorder was used to
record observations and the interviews that were later transcribed.
The snowball method was used to make contact with the Indigenous peoples working in the tourism industry. Snowballing is a type of sampling that
involves using one contact to recruit another contact (Valentine, 2005). The
disadvantage of using such a methodology is, for example, the barrier to
unbiased samples, the risk of producing inaccurate results due to narrow
circles of friends, and that the respondents recommend like-minded people
or that the selection is limited to personal networks (ibid.). Tourisme Autochtones Québec was contacted first and assisted in sending a letter to six
communities. Only one community responded positively, which made it
necessary to use other means to interact with informants, for example, attending community-organised activities such as concerts, thematic exhibitions and talks, thus persevering with the snowball method. Each person
encountered was asked if they knew anyone who would be willing to be
interviewed. The respondents referred to other Indigenous people both with2
A band council is the administrative body of a reserve. It can be composed of a maximum of
twelve and a minimum of three members. The members are elected every two years by the
adult population of the band living in the reserve. If the band council wants to adopt a resolution or bylaw, it must be approved by the Minister of Indian Affairs. The band councils are
dependent on non-Indigenous authorities for each of their decisions (Charest, 2003).
24
in their own group and in other Indigenous groups. According to Medeiros
de Araujo and Bramwell (1999), the snowball method is useful at the local
level. Boeije (2010) points out that it is useful when studying sensitive topics
or when target groups are difficult to reach, which in some situations has
been the case during this research.
The interviews were quite different on each occasion. The reason for this
was that each personal story and experience was unique. A question guide
was used with topics and themes that were explored during the interviews.
The topics concerned how Indigenous tourism has affected their community,
personal life, gender relations, entrepreneurial strategies, daily work, and the
future sustainability of tourism development. Talking about tourism development in the community often proved to be a good starting point for forthcoming questions.
In addition to the 17 interviews, seven informal talks (individual discussions) took place. The people I had individual discussions with were those
who I met on a few occasions and had conversations with. These individual
discussions were handled differently depending on the occasion. Informal
talks were conducted with a non-Indigenous pilot, an Indigenous pow-wow
dancer, a non-Indigenous employee at Galerie Art Inuit Brousseau, an Indigenous B&B owner at Todousac, the President (Indigenous) of the Native
Women’s Association in Canada (NWAC), a Métis employee at Québec
tourism centre, and a non-Indigenous employee at Parc Canada. The majority of the informal talks were recorded in a notebook immediately after the
conversation. On two occasions I had to wait until I arrived home. On two
other occasions I had the tape recorder with me and could dictate notes immediately after the conversation.
The personal narratives were of importance in understanding the context
in which Indigenous peoples in Québec live. According to Möller (2009)
knowledge is constantly produced in a social context and does not exist independently of people themselves. For this reason, it is important to take into
consideration the social relationships in which the respondents live.
Methodologies in Indigenous research
In tourism research, qualitative approaches have been particularly useful for
researchers working with Indigenous people. Finlayson (1991, in Nielsen,
2010 and Smith, 1999) recommends the use of qualitative data when examining attitude and empirical issues in studies of Indigenous tourism. According to Finlayson this methodology allows better communication between the
researcher and the participants and strengthens the researcher’s ability to
explore the personal experiences of Indigenous people regarding tourism.
Cole (2005) and Möller (2009) also argue that qualitative techniques such as
semi-structured interviews and focus groups allow information to be shared
25
in a dialogue, often in settings in which participants are comfortable. Today
there is ongoing discussion on the perspective of Indigenous people in research.
Indigenous practices
It is well known that Indigenous people are amongst the most studied in the
world (Nielsen, 2010; Butler & Hinch, 1996; Brunt, 2001). The nonIndigenous have been the researchers and the Indigenous people the researched. Indigenous people and communities have had very little to say
about how the studies would be conducted and the results used. In response
to feeling over-researched and underheard, Indigenous scholars and writers
have started to publish their own ideas and versions of how research on and
with Indigenous peoples should be conducted (Nielsen, 2010; Moreton Robinson & Walter, 2009; Smith, 1999). According to Smith (1999:143) “Indigenous methodologies are often a mix of existing methodological approaches
and Indigenous practices”. This means that the knowledge and experiences
of Indigenous peoples must form an important part of the research methodologies. This contributes to the construction of knowledge about Indigenous
peoples that includes a specific way of knowing, based upon the oral tradition of sharing knowledge identified as storytelling, yarning, talk story, restorying or re-membering (Thomas, 2005; Absolon & Willett, 2004). The
term ‘re-membering’ means to remember the past. For many Indigenous
people the past can be related to painful memories. Because of this it is important for the researcher to be prepared and let the process take time when
people start to open up. Yarning is an Indigenous term for having a conversation (ibid.).
These methods are significant to Indigenous methodologies because they
focus on knowledge production based on oral storytelling traditions, linked
with an Indigenous paradigm (Smith, 1999). If these methods are translated
into qualitative methods, interviews are a suitable method to use in research
with Indigenous peoples. Another relevant approach is to take a holistic
view. Thomas (2005) and Absolon & Willett (2004) mention that it is important for the researchers to be involved in the community’s activities. This
method of participating in activities can be used to assemble a more complete picture of the community via observation. Various similarities can be
observed between Indigenous methodologies and traditional qualitative
methods that are used in ethnographic methodologies, such as group interviews, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews.
Some researchers are of the opinion that Indigenous research methodology means conducting research more ethically and being more aware of the
negative impact that can occur (Nielsen, 2010; Smith, 1999). The present
study is not more ethical than the studies carried out by other researchers but
a great deal of thought has been put into its impact. The research should
26
reflect Indigenous standpoints and perspectives, respond to Indigenous needs
and interests, and provide direct and immediate benefits to Indigenous people and communities (Moreton Robinson & Walter, 2009; Smith, 1999).
There is a debate regarding whether non-Indigenous researchers can use
Indigenous methodologies (Smith, 1999; Nielsen, 2010). Nielsen (2010)
suggests that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers can use such
methodologies because as both are involved in the colonial process, both
have a role to play in decolonisation. Since all researchers must comply with
ethical rules, it should not be necessary to define who has the right to do
research on Indigenous issues. Social relations are always of importance and
the researcher always has a responsibility to the respondents.
Ethical research methodology
In tourism and leisure research, Macbeth (2005) addresses the importance of
having an ethical research methodology. Macbeth’s ethical tourism research
methodology challenges ideas of researcher representations of the ‘other’
and ensures that issues such as race, ethnicity and class can no longer be
dismissed and/or ignored. He draws particular attention to the researcher’s
engagement with local communities and people in the less developed world.
In the present study it is important to try to understand the culture, history
and social complexity of Indigenous peoples. The relationship between researcher and participants and the dynamic interaction between them is important.
Before I started this project I had a conversation with a person working at
Tourisme Autochtone Québec. We talked a lot about how this project might
come to benefit the Indigenous peoples in Québec and about the ethics that
must be taken into consideration. Tourism in Québec is expanding and affecting Indigenous communities and people’s everyday lives in different
ways. In Canada and Australia there are special ethical codes of conduct,
research protocols and guidelines that the researcher must follow when conducting research with Indigenous people. In these countries the researcher is
required to secure permission for the research from the relevant institutions,
such as research boards and national and local governments, before starting
work (Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies, 2003;
Nielsen, 2010; Assemblé des Premiéres Nations du Québec et du Labrador,
2005). Before I could start my research in Québec, I had to attend a meeting
with Tourisme Autochtone Québec, send them my research proposal including research topic, purpose, objectives, approach, and interview guidelines,
and sign an ethical agreement. The agreement guarantees respondent anonymity and requires material to be archived securely. In this thesis, people
are not identified by names, and every effort has been made to ensure that
cited material may not be easily traced. Verbal agreements were obtained
from interviewees. Ideally, agreements would have been made in writing,
27
which is something that the ethical codes of conduct suggest. However, after
consultation with Tourisme Autochtone Québec, we concluded that as the
work was only being conducted with a number of individuals rather than
with the whole community, a verbal agreement would be sufficient. All the
respondents were provided with my email address and I with theirs. I promised to send a copy of the thesis to each of them and Tourisme Autochtone
Québec will also receive a copy.
My position as researcher
On my initial contact with the communities and Indigenous peoples, it was
difficult to find someone willing to participate in the study. One university
professor at Université Laval, Québec, told me that I should start to talk
about myself and my heritage. My grandmother is a Mapuche descendant
from Chile. However, I have never seen myself as a Mapuche as I grew up in
Sweden and my grandmother only told the family about her heritage 10
years ago. For many Indigenous peoples, it is important that Indigenous research is conducted by Indigenous peoples, and talking about my grandmother helped provide me with a foot in the door in the communities. I
needed this mechanism to establish my contacts. I was open from the beginning towards the respondents regarding the fact that I did not grow up in a
traditional Mapuche home and that I do not know the language, traditional
dances or traditions. The respondents accepted me in spite of this as they
saw that my study also focused on establishing closer contact with my roots.
My introduction in the communities began with social activities such as
dinner, helping with work, helping with taking the boat down to the water
and taking it out of the water, cooking food, baking bread, doing the dishes,
plucking a Canada goose, sewing and working with beads, taking care of
children, carrying wood, skinning hares, carrying water, helping the hunters,
building teepees, and picking berries and Labrador leaves to make tea. The
idea was to start with tourism activities but I soon realised that everyday life
formed the basis for tourism activities. My position was rather a hybrid of a
tourist and guest when visiting people’s homes and tourism businesses.
Establishing a relationship with the people involved in the study provides
greater opportunities to learn about and understand significant issues that
concern them. According to Valentine (2005) researchers need to think about
who they are and how their own identity will shape interactions with the
respondent. Valentine (2005) argues that sharing the same background or a
similar identity will have a positive effect, facilitating the relationship between the researcher and the respondent, and may result in a more detailed
conversation. This can be illustrated by a situation in which I gained access
to a ceremony that non-Indigenous peoples were not permitted to attend, or
when some women told me that their children’s father was non-Indigenous
28
but they had applied to the government for their children to have Indian status.
29
Conclusions
The present chapter will highlight the main contribution of the thesis. The
central aim of the thesis has been to analyse how communities are affected
by the development of Indigenous tourism and how they deal with this development. This has included an analysis of how communities have participated in the Indigenous tourism process, and how the shaping of Indigenous
tourism affects the individuals that work in Indigenous tourism, their lives
and the strategies and practices of the communities within tourism. In the
present study it is important to not only see Indigenous peoples as people
affected by tourism but primarily as individuals who are involved in shaping
tourism in their communities. The result is a process in which society, the
community and the Indigenous tourism industry are changing and transforming. I have shown how the dimensions of sustainable development can interact with place-specific conditions and are of importance for the Indigenous
communities.
This study also aims to show the complexity of Indigenous tourism. Different Indigenous communities have their own history, identity and relationship with the government (of Canada and of Québec), as well as their own
gender structures and vision of the future. All this depends on the national
and local context in which the Indigenous communities live. It is then important when studying Indigenous tourism to look at several scales and the
interactions between these scales.
The theoretical frameworks in the articles are related to sustainable development within resilience, authenticity and representation of territory in a
Québec context. All these concepts are valuable in expanding knowledge of
Indigenous tourism, local development and sustainability. The hope is that
findings from this study can contribute to self-understanding and provide a
context for understanding and interpreting the situation of Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous tourism in Québec continues to grow and develop economic
opportunities for many communities. The renewal of the traditional and contemporary Innu, Cree, Huron and Abenaki identities will also contribute to a
growing sense of pride within Indigenous communities. These identities are
not only constructed within the framework of Indigenous tourism but are
also dependent on the history and structures of contemporary mainstream
society. But it is also true that, through the production of Indigenous tourism,
the notion of authenticity is challenged and demonstrated in ways that bene30
fit contemporary life in the communities. However, these demonstrations
(performances) may also reproduce or challenge traditional Indigenous identities and fuel tensions and conflicts between different groups of individuals
in the communities, not least from a gender perspective.
Indigenous cultures and traditions have a strong bond with their natural
environment (Johnston, 2007; Notzke, 2006). An understanding of how representations and use of Indigenous space are connected or disconnected in
practice helps not only to improve tourism experience but also facilitates
dialogue on the sustainable use of nature by all parties involved.
Despite the fact that the implementation of community-based Indigenous
tourism cannot alleviate all types of threats to Indigenous communities, the
development of Indigenous tourism can potentially mitigate many problems
by placing control of tourism in the hands of the Indigenous communities.
This will lead to empowerment of the Indigenous individuals and communities, which results in sustainable livelihoods. In the case of the present study,
the communities and individuals involved in Indigenous tourism benefit in
terms of social, cultural, natural and economic development while adopting
non-Indigenous ideas and practices. Adaptation does not necessarily lead to
a weakened cultural identity; it could also strengthen such an identity as it
makes individuals more aware of differences (Lucero, 2014).
Connecting resilience, representation and authenticity
The term ‘authenticity’ as used in this study refers to authenticity as a social
construction rather than an objective fact. In the study we contend that authenticity is something that operates culturally. The concept of authenticity is
used to show how important the social construction of reality is, rather than
it being a simple reflection of reality (Hewitt, 1989). Authenticity can be
considered to have several different levels ranging from authentic to inauthentic. Therefore, the self (the identity) is both shaped and reshaped by
social exchanges with others, both with individuals in the same community
and with peoples outside the community. Tourism helps people to rediscover
or reinforce their identity (Stronza, 2008).
To answer the second question of this thesis, how traditional territory is
utilised in tourism development, another concept is needed: representation of
territory. According to Nelson (1994) representation of territory is important
in order to understand the social relationships through which landscape is
symbolically constructed. Territory or environment is “influenced by the
thoughts, opinions and behavior of people who live or perceive those landscapes” (Nelson, 1994:4). The way the territory and the environment are
described is culturally constructed. For example in a tourist guide, the representation used will not only focus on the images but also on the words used.
This in turn affects what image should represent one’s own culture.
31
The third term used in this study is resilience. This concept is required for
a complete understanding of the thesis and in order to answer the question
“How does the development of Indigenous tourism relate to individual and
community resilience?” Resilience as a concept provides access to the overall adaptive capacity of the everyday process and community structures. The
other two concepts are used to help explain and understand the internal components of resilience. Authenticity can affect resilience both negatively and
positively; the same goes for representation of territory. For example, how
an individual or community presents itself or its territory affects identity and
the feeling of authenticity, making the individuals or the community more or
less inclined to change their cultural patterns.
In this study, I have combined a number of theories and concepts in order
to understand Indigenous tourism and how the individuals involved are shaping and transforming their own destinies. The theoretical concepts are interconnected and are essential to understanding the complexity of sustainable
development in Indigenous tourism. The concept used offers a different way
of achieving sustainable development. According to Holling (2001) sustainable development is the process that promotes adaptive competencies while
creating opportunities. In the development of Indigenous tourism, social,
economic, environmental and cultural approaches are particularly relevant.
Resilience, authenticity and representation of territory are important in the
process of change. It is crucial to keep in mind that sustainable tourism is far
from homogenous.
This study elucidates how Indigenous people and communities are working very hard in today’s society to maintain stability, and that they have the
capacity to continue to transform. They continue to adapt to change and to
transform their identity and culture. The results in paper I show that the
transformed practices in Indigenous tourism do not necessarily lead to a
weak cultural identity; rather, they make gender relations visible and
strengthen them. For example, Indigenous women experience less support in
entrepreneurship and do not have the same opportunities as men to access
natural resources and land. The results in paper II show that the notion of
authenticity is challenged and demonstrated in a way that benefits contemporary life in the communities while fuelling the tensions and conflicts between
different groups of individuals, not least from a gender perspective. Paper III
shows that there are differences and similarities between different Indigenous groups in terms of how their territory is presented and their relation to
it. Both in Russia and in Canada, Indigenous groups are presented as exotic
groups with great awareness of the territory. This presentation is made by
themselves or by a tourist office. But Indigenous groups in these two countries want to give the impression that the link between themselves and nature
is positive.
32
Summary of articles
Paper I. Indigenous tourism and processes of resilience, co-authored with
Susanne Stenbacka.
Tourism as an overall supportive strategy may be recognised as a recent
trend in Indigenous communities, considering the overall extensive history
of these societies. However, Indigenous tourism now has a history of its
own. It is a well-known way of life for an increasing part of the world’s Indigenous communities, and it has taken tortuous paths and undergone changes in approach and meaning. Still, there is not simply one way of looking at
Indigenous tourism; localities harbour competing political, administrative
and local views of commitment.
In this article, the narratives of men and women will structure how Indigenous tourism can be understood as processes of resilience, focusing on development and justification. Men and women are the crucial agents in these
processes, and their perspectives on space, time and spatial relations constitute the framework for understanding resilience. Geographical scales have
served as a structuring factor in this reasoning; their occurrence indicate a
need to stress a relational perspective to parallel the strictly defined legacy
framework that encircles Indigenous populations.
The impact of Indigenous tourism is experienced through internal relationships such as the economic and social circumstances of households, but
external relationships are also transformed. This includes networks within
the local community and at regional and national level, as well as trans-local
networks and relationships. Resilience is conceptualised here in terms of
communicative processes. These processes are about communicating identity in the family and community as well as giving a voice to Indigenous tourism as a political project, which means communicating identity outside the
community. It is argued that Indigenous tourism works at several geographical levels and that these levels intersect and have the potential to increase
resilience if they interact. Our case adds to the development of resilience
theory by illuminating the need to view communities as parts of networks
and not as single entities.
Paper II. Performing identity and Culture in Indigenous Tourism – a Study
of Tourism in Communities in Québec, Canada, co-authored with Susanna
Heldt-Cassel.
The aim of this paper is to analyse the ways in which Indigenous tourism
affects representations of identity and culture, and how tourism practices are
described, negotiated and related to development in First Nation communi33
ties. This aim is met through a study including interviews and observations
in First Nation communities in Québec, Canada, where Indigenous tourism
has received increased attention and been assigned economic importance in
recent years. Tourism is put forward as offering potential for economic, social and cultural development through alternative income opportunities and
the revalorisation of traditions and cultural practices. From the interviews in
this study, we find that Indigenous tourism influences the ways in which
individuals see themselves – how they perceive their identity and culture.
Through Indigenous tourism products, the notion of authenticity is challenged and performed in ways that benefit contemporary life in the communities. However, these performances may also reproduce or challenge traditional Indigenous identities and fuel tensions and conflicts between different
groups of individuals in the communities.
Paper III. Experiencing Indigenous territories in Canadian and Russian
Arctic: implications for tourism development and practices, is co-authored
with Albina Pashkevich.
The representations of territory used by Canadian Innu and Russian Nenets
in current tourism practices serve as basis for this study. Special attention is
given to the ways in which territory is utilised for the construction of tourism
experiences based on Indigenous culture and traditions. Using qualitative
methodology – participant observation and semi-structured interviews – the
study addresses the issues of how the traditional Indigenous space is presented and packaged for tourists, and the relationship that Indigenous people
have with their land. Representation of the Indigenous groups is limited to
the non-Indigenous actors, who often act as mediators between visitors and
the hosts. The results illustrate how Canadian Innu involved in small-scale
tourism activities reinforce or even regain their connections with the environment surrounding them, not least on a spiritual level. In the Russian case,
involvement of Nenets in tourism activities does not allow them to create
opportunities for regaining greater control over their native territory and
reconnecting with the environment in the same way as Innu are in managing
their traditional lands. Practices used to consume the native territory do not
differ considerably between the cases. The Indigenous communities in the
Russian case derive less benefit from tourism activities, not only in economic terms but also in that their ability to manage traditional lands and the natural environment is seriously undermined.
34
Recommendations for further research
This thesis is one contribution towards understanding the ways in which the
everyday lives of Indigenous peoples are being affected by the development
of Indigenous tourism. Several situations regarding this development are
important to consider when attempting to understand the different scales that
affect Indigenous communities and the lives of the peoples involved in the
Indigenous tourism industry. This gives rise to a need for further research as
it affects the people, land, traditions and history of the different First Nations.
One theme for further research is gender relations. In general, many of the
previous research studies about Indigenous tourism take a male or community perspective. This research shows that Indigenous tourism makes gender
relations visible and strengthens them. In relation to this, it is of interest to
study how gender relations interact with Indigenous tourism as women are a
vulnerable group in many Indigenous communities in Canada.
A second theme for further research would be to analyse the tension in
Northern Québec. The Québec government has initiated a project to develop
Northern Québec called Plan Nord. Plan Nord focuses on developing the
economic potential of Northern Québec, with an emphasis on the mining
industry, infrastructure, energy, environmental protection and transport.
Northern Québec is mainly inhabited by Indigenous peoples and has unexploited natural resources. The local communities and global economies are
competing to occupy the same territory. However, there is also tension between Indigenous communities about the territory as different Indigenous
communities have different rights to make land claims. The development of
Plan Nord will affect the different communities in different ways. For this
reason, it is vital to understand the conflicts of interest in relation to laws and
policies, and the contemporary view of the use of natural resources by Indigenous communities.
A third theme for further research concerns resilience. It is necessary and
important to understand how different groups in the communities benefit and
are put at a disadvantage by the development of tourism. The questions we
should ask ourselves are as follows: For whom is this sustainable? How has
the development of Indigenous tourism affected households that do not work
with tourism? In my study we have seen that communicative resilience is
important in many respects and contributes to sustainability. Indigenous
tourism shifts the balance in social, economic, cultural and ecological systems in all possible directions.
A fourth theme for further research is to examine the focus of policy in relation to Indigenous tourism. Indigenous tourism is a relatively new industry
in Québec. As the present study shows, Indigenous tourism affects communities in many different ways. This study is merely a starting point for understanding how Indigenous tourism affects the communities. With this in
35
mind, it is essential to gain a better understanding of Indigenous communities as, in the long run, they will affect the policy recommendations developed by the Canadian government.
36
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