As part of a multifaceted partnership, Destination Canada and ITAC are working together to create a series of Indigenous tourism promotional videos which highlight exceptional and authentic Indigenous experiences available in Canada. These videos are distributed online and presented at major industry events to build positive awareness of Indigenous tourism in Canada.
The first video within the “Power of Indigenous Tourism” series was debuted at Rendez-vous Canada on April 26, 2016 and highlights the guest experience available at the Huron-Wendat Museum and the Ekionkiestha’ longhouse in Wendake, near Quebec City, Quebec. The Wendake Lake clan has many stories to tell. Since opening a museum, they host visitors from all over the world and are able to share those stories in an authentic and meaningful way.
The video series focuses on the overall social and economic benefits that are being created through Indigenous tourism from coast to coast to coast. Within this second five-minute video, First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people from across Canada share stories that highlight how tourism has allowed them to grow, adapt, and evolve to engage with visitors.
The third of four videos in the series highlights the work by Mi’kmaq artists from eastern Canada, and conveys the importance between the land, Indigenous culture, language, and visual identity. Artist Alan Syliboy of the Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia has spent his life researching traditional art and design, and deciphering it into the visual designs of his own work, which are featured in the video.
The fourth in the series highlights Brenda Holder, owner of Mahikan Trails and a member of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation in Alberta, Canada. As a traditional guide, Holder explains how the modern-day approach to sharing the connection between the land, Indigenous people, and their guests has remained as it once was when European explorers were charting western Canada. Now, when Holder has visitors join her tours, she shares an immersive experience with them that takes them out of their current comfort zone and into a completely new one throughout their hike.
The fifth video in the series was created in partnership with True Calling Canada and focuses on northern Canada, bringing attention to the welcoming nature of Indigenous communities in Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The video highlights the powerful experiences visitors have to choose from, as well as the positive impact of cultural tourism in northern Canada. “One of the most powerful things that has ever happened to me is my move north,” says Kylik Kisoun Taylor, owner of Tundra North Tours in Inuvik, NT, in the two-minute feature. “The world needs to see this way of life and just how beautiful it is.”
The second installment in the Power of the North video series, created in partnership with True Calling Canada, focuses on Indigenous tourism as a profitable and powerful business and shares with viewers the story of Kylik Kisoun Taylor, owner of Tundra North Tours in Inuvik, NT. Taylor wants to teach and inspire the local youth to show them that there is power and success in their reach, if they choose to be cultural ambassadors. Visitors may partake in authentic experiences, and then go home with a better understanding of Indigenous culture and who they are as a people.