27th September  , 2024

Indigenous Experiences – and Their Guides – Light the Way

Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples have lived on and cared for the land that is now known as Canada. Indigenous knowledge, passed down
through many generations of time, was the key to surviving and thriving. But ancient knowledge isn't just important historically, this wisdom holds the key to securing our planet's future. Drawing on a deep connection to the land, Indigenous knowledge has long promoted sustainable practices that protect ecosystems and enhance biodiversity.

Travel for the future: Indigenous tourism experiences are a wonderful way for travellers to experience and share in traditional knowledge. It's a way to restore and reset yourself - returning home with a greater commitment to nature, community, and the planet.

Background: Indigenous is a term used in Canada to refer to the descendants of the original inhabitants of the land and includes First Nation, Métis and Inuit People. There are more than 60 distinct Indigenous languages spoken in Canada from 12 different language families, more than 630 First Nation communities, over 50 Inuit communities, and approximately 600,000 Metis People across Canada and around half of the Indigenous population in Canada live in cities. There are approximately two million Indigenous people in Canada today, about 5.3 percent of the Canadian population.

Below are four of the myriad experiences and guides offering a window to the past and a vision for the future. 

WANUSKEWIN: A Meeting of Cultures
The basics: For thousands of years, nomadic Indigenous groups came together at the place that is now Wanuskewin Heritage Park. The historical site provides an opportunity to delve into the past and discover what life was like pre-contact for the first peoples of the Northern Plains. It is an active archaeological dig site, Canada's longest running.

Gateway: The site is just outside of downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

News: Wanuskewin Heritage Park hopes to become the province's first UNESCO world heritage site by 2028. Bison were recently reintroduced and are thriving.

Why it matters: Besides serving as an important place of trade, it was a place of peaceful coexistence and extraordinary cultural exchange. In the Cree/ nêhiyawêwin language: ᐋᐧᓇᐢᑫᐃᐧᐣ / wânaskêwin means “being at peace with oneself. A 6,000-year archeological record tells the story of a landscape that was and is spiritually significant to Indigenous People. The ancient medicine wheel, the petroglyphs and archaeological artifacts attest to the special value of this place. Canada's longest running archeological dig site is on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage site designation.

Travel to experience: There are many immersive experiences. Visitors can take an interpretive tour, including the bison jump and medicine wheels, walk the trails on their own, sleep in a tipi, enjoy special dining experiences, and explore the only Indigenous-led and -curated art gallery in Saskatoon.

Voice for the future: “Our burger has a caramelized onion and sage topping, and we're doing a chokecherry vinaigrette for our house salad. I want the food to be very evocative of place and landscape, so people are coming away with a mouthful of flavour of what this land is.” Jenni Lessard is head chef of the Han Wi Moon dinners at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. “There's something really special, sacred even, about making transactions with people that grow and produce your food,” she says. Han Wi Moon Dinners are ticketed events that happen a few times each summer and include the opportunity to walk on the land, watch the sunset and the moon rise over the South Saskatchewan River and the Opimihaw Valley, listen to sacred stories and traditional songs, and sip muskeg tea around a cozy fire.

MÉTIS CROSSING: Water as Teacher
The basics: There was a time when Canada's rivers were highways. Access to water for trade and transportation was so important that Métis
Peoples who settled in Alberta in the late 1800s did so on river lots. Métis Crossing, Alberta's first Métis cultural interpretive centre, was built on a
512-acre site that was home to some of the original river lots of these early settlers. It is a place to learn about and experience Métis history and culture.

Gateway: Métis Crossing is located 90 minutes northeast of Edmonton, Alberta.

News: In May 2024, Métis Crossing, the town of Smoky Lake, and Smoky Lake County launched the Smoky Lake Tourism Company (SLTC) to take a collaborative regional approach to destination and economic development.

Why it matters: Alberta is home to more than 127,000 Métis people and is the only province in Canada with a recognized Métis land base. Métis are people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, and one of the three recognized Indigenous Peoples in Canada with their own unique culture and language. Métis Crossing is Alberta's first and only Métis cultural interpretive centre - one of the few places you can experience the fascinating culture
of Métis Peoples and share in their traditional knowledge.

Travel to experience: There are many ways visitors can immerse themselves in Métis culture at this site. They can relive the fur trade paddling a voyageur canoe, talk to an elder, take part in an interpretive cultural experience, learn about native plants and their uses, and see a sacred white bison on a tour of the onsite wildlife park. There's an onsite lodge, sky-watching domes, Métis trappers' tents and a campground for overnight stays.

Voice of the future: “Paddle on the river, walk along the trail, think about the ancestors that passed here. We get everything from the land. The air, the water, the animals. We are the stewards of this land. It's our responsibility.” Lilyrose Meyers is the knowledge keeper and teacher at Métis Crossing. She has resided in Buffalo Lake Métis settlement for 41 years. She was born and raised on a traditional Métis farm north of High Prairie, Alberta, where she learned to snare rabbits, ride horses, and live off the land.

WENDAKE: Essential Elements
The basics: There are four sacred elements in Wendat culture – water, air, earth and fire. The Wendat People embraced these elements, growing the “three sisters” (corn, beans and squash) in the earth, paddling and fishing on the water, and sharing legends and stories around the fire. Today the Huron-Wendat Nation is based in Wendake on two urban reserves near Quebec City, Quebec. It's the epicentre for experiences that help visitors learn about Wendat culture.

Gateway: Wendake is a 20-minute drive from Quebec City.

News: In May, the Huron-Wendat Nation and Parks Canada announced a new collaborative experience at the Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site in Quebec City. Three new stations were developed and installed at the main entrances to the national historic site to depict the defining moments of the encounter between explorer Jacques Cartier and his crew and “the St. Lawrence Iroquoians”, whom the Wendat consider to be their direct ancestors.

Why it matters: The first documented face-to-face encounter between Europeans and Iroquoian-speaking peoples occurred on the Gaspé coast in what is now Quebec in 1534. Prior to 1600, the Wendat population was estimated to be between 20,000 to 25,000 people spread over 880 kilometres of land. Epidemics and war decimated the population to near extinction. Today there are about 5,155 registered members of the Huron-Wendat Nation. In Wendake, they share their culture and timeless knowledge through a wide array of Indigenous tourism experiences and sites.

Travel to experience: There are a vast array of Indigenous tourism experiences in Wendake. Visitors can stay at a luxury Indigenous-owned hotel, enjoy fine dining at several outstanding Indigenous restaurants, explore a museum, enjoy storytelling around a fire in a longhouse, canoe or kayak on the river, learn legends on an illuminated night walk and explore a recreated Wendat village. There are also many Indigenous arts and craft shops to explore.

Voice of the future: “Being a Wendat is not only about blood, it's about how we live. Historically, we told stories around the fire and it's still how we keep our culture alive. First Nations have accurate oral history, because our stories have been told and shared many times through many generations. They are told in our language, in our way of speaking.” Dominic Ste-Marie is a storyteller, interpretive guide, and proud Wendat who is passionate about sharing his culture through the Myths and Legends tour in Wendake.

MANITOULIN ISLAND: Secrets of Language
The basics: Language is key to culture. It fosters a shared sense of community and cultural identity, and it holds treasures, clues and secrets to deeper
aspects of a culture. Loss of Indigenous languages was one of the most devastating effects of residential schools in Canada. Located on the eastern peninsula of Manitoulin Island, Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory is home to the largest Anishnaabek community on Manitoulin Island. The Indigenous People here are revitalizing their culture with innovative language learning apps and programs – and it's working! Manitoulin Island is home to the largest number of Anishinaabemowin language speakers in the Great Lakes region. The community's language program, including school and workplace curriculums, is nationally recognized. Gateway: Manitoulin Island is a six-hour drive from Toronto, Ontario.

News: A partnership between the Canadian government and Ontario province is expected to connect 18,600 homes on Manitoulin Island and the north shore of Lake Huron to high-speed internet by the end of 2025. This will undoubtedly assist residents in online language learning and other tasks.

Why it matters: As the only officially recognized unceded territory in Canada, Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory has a registered population of 8,330, with an on-reserve population of 3,208. It is a community composed of the Odawa (Manitoulin Island's original inhabitants), the Ojibway and Potawatomi People, who together form the Three Fires Confederacy, a long standing Anishinaabe alliance. Unceded means that First Nations people never ceded or legally signed away their lands to the Crown or to Canada. Manitoulin Island is a medicine island with a wide array of medicinal plants. Indigenous knowledge of the medicinal value of these plants and ecosystems is shared in tours and experiences offered here.

Travel to experience: Manitoulin Island can be explored on foot and by boat. Visitors can connect with the people in Wiikwemkoong and experience their culture by attending the annual powwow, taking a guided historical tour of the area, enjoying a walk along the Bebamikawe Memorial Trail and reading the interpretive signs or enjoying one of several outdoor Indigenous culinary experiences. Visitors can also enjoy Point Grondine Park, a beautiful 18,000-acre park that is owned and managed by the Wiikwemkoong People.

Voice of the future: “These are our homelands. We can't go anywhere else to look for our language or our culture. This is it." Ogimaa Duke Peltier is the former chief of the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory and is currently serving as the Anishinabek Nation Children's Commissioner.

More Voices and Experiences:
● Kylik Kisoun Taylor, Tundra North Tours, Inuvik, Northwest Territories
● Joe Bailey, North Star Adventures, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
● Candace Campo, Talaysay Tours, Vancouver, BC
● Rita Mestokosho, Maison de la culture Innue, Ekuanitshit, Quebec
● David Daley, Wapusk Adventures, Churchill, Manitoba
● Brenda Holder, Mahikan Trails, Canmore, Alberta
● Marilyn Jensen, Dakhká Khwaán Dancers, Whitehorse, Yukon
● Matricia Bauer, Warrior Women, Jasper, Alberta

For more media information about Indigenous Tourism please go to www.indigenoustourism.ca 

For more media information on Canada please get in touch with Ms. Nim Singh, singh.nim@destinationcanada.com (not for publication)

Readers wanting more informatoin on planning trips to Canada should go to www.explore-canada.co.uk