ABORINET : Aboriginal Tourism Arctic Network and workshop
Aboriginal Ecotourism in Northern Canadian Inuit and Cree, Scandinavian Saami and Russian Nenets : an international collaborative research approach
The primary goal of this collaborative project is to bring together Aboriginal-Indigenous tourism operators, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers, and other stakeholders potentially involved in the eco- and cultural tourism projects of four communities, that is the Caribou Inuit of Baker Lake and the nine Cree First Nations of Eeyou Istchee around James Bay, the Saami herders of Övre Soppero, Sweden, and the Nenet of Northeastern Russia. These four communities were selected after preparatory research in each locality and preliminary meetings (funded in part by EU FP6 Marie Curie fellowship, IPEV Ecotrad, and the IPY-PPS Arctic) and are ready for this collaborative research process. Besides a commitment to eco-tourism development, they share several specific issues born from their particular Aboriginal-Indigenous identities, their Northern remote locations, and their cultural and economic interests in their environments including Caribou (or reindeer). This is an opportunity for Canadian researchers to build an international interdisciplinary team and participate in the ensuing international collaboration in action.
Three initial, workshops in situ, then a common Website, are to be organized a) To explore, test, and promote innovative collaborative and PAR tools for development projects ; share specific methodological approaches for tourism planning in Northern Aboriginal-Indigenous communities ; and build a collaborative network using a common web-based or portal-based approach. And b), to facilitate the process by which stakeholders can map out a Northern Aboriginal-Indigenous collaborative research strategy that will incorporate ethical criteria, environmental management strategies, culturally adapted governance, and local control of project, among other criteria, and initiate a community of practice in Aboriginal tourism across the Arctic and Sub Arctic,
Northern Aboriginal-Indigenous communities are well positioned to develop successful tourism initiatives given their proximity to unique natural areas suitable for ecotourism and a growing local and international demand for cultural tourism experiences. Many communities have taken advantage of this double opportunity but Aboriginal tourism development in Canada is lagging behind other countries. Research has already shown that each site is defined by particular needs, resources and environmental parameters ; that Aboriginal tourism projects cannot succeed without taking into account the specific orientations of their cultural context, that marketing has to respond to specific and changing demands and that the commercialization of cultural assets is problematic. From a theoretical perspective it is now critical to uncover if and how Aboriginal tourism can contribute to Aboriginal autonomy and overall community health and wellness, and to develop tools to monitor the industry. Both collective development success and valid innovative research depends on greater collaboration between Aboriginal communities, and between communities and other agencies including Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal scholars. Furthermore, an international dimension has become a necessity for both tourism development and research. It is our working hypothesis that the singular nature of Aboriginal tourism projects will become an asset, and sharing of information, ideas and models will benefit the Aboriginal tourism industry locally, nationally and internationally. SSHRC IOF funding will facilitate the bringing together across the Atlantic of researchers and communities.