SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Protecting and sharing our sacred spaces

There’s no better way to stay true to the principles of sustainable tourism than to participate in Indigenous experiences. The three legs of sustainable tourism — environmental, social, and economic integrity — come together with Indigenous tourism experiences.

By their nature, outings with Mi’kmaw guides and interpreters support environmental sustainability. Visitors can try their hand at helping build a traditional birchbark canoe using materials gathered entirely from the forest. They can tour Canada’s second largest collection of petroglyphs, take guided medicine walks to identify sacred plants, and learn how traditional objects are made. Experiences like these are low impact, leaving virtually no environmental footprint.

Many Mi’kmaw goods and services such as handcrafts and guided tours value the wilderness. Plants, trees, whole forests are used gently, either as places to visit or as the sources of raw materials. Whether its birchbark for canoes and wigwams, black ash for basketry or spruce roots for making natural rope, harvesting is carried out in a sustainable manner, guaranteeing that particular species and the ecosystems in which they live are maintained for future generations.

While such experiences are carried out in ways that respect the environment, they also provide economic benefits directly to the community. Mi’kmaw cultural workers are creating high quality employment by rediscovering and sharing their own heritage. Sustainable tourism that is developed and controlled locally and that relies on the richness of customary cultural heritage, contributes directly to local prosperity and to long term community wellbeing.

In turn, a healthy Mi’kmaw community that draws upon its heritage to create engaging and educational experiences translates into high quality visitor experiences. For those who wish to share in original, customary Mi’kmaw events and guided tours, or to take home original works by Mi’kmaw artisans, there are many rewards, both for themselves and for their Indigenous hosts.

Sustainable tourism helps to bridge the gap between cultures. Direct contact with Indigenous peoples, hands on experiences with Mi’kmaw customary practices and history learned through an Indigenous lens, all these things help break down stereotypes and preconceived notions of who the Mi’kmaq are and how they live.

Mi’kmaw guides, interpreters, artists, and performers are proud of their culture, and want to share it with non-Indigenous visitors, as they’ve always done. Sharing is a strong cultural value that the Mi’kmaq have as a people. That’s why they’re inviting visitors to see through Indigenous eyes, to look around mindfully, paying attention to Mi’kmaw traditions and values, all of which were forged from thousands of years living in harmony with their environment. *