Aboriginal Tourism: St. Eugene Mission, BC

Thea Pedersen

doi:10.29173/jaed315

Authors

Thea Pedersen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/jaed315

Keywords:

Business And Economics, Communication, Culture, Ethnic Interests, Golf, Historical events, Ignorance, Indigenous peoples, Marketing, Native North Americans, Schools, Students, Success, Tourism, Transportation services, St. Eugene Mission, Aboriginal tourism, Indigenous tourism, Indigenous businesses, Indigenous businesses in Canada, Indigenous economic development, Indigenous economic leadership

Abstract

[...]a tourist organization's primary service could be providing luxurious accommodations, but to guarantee success, it is likely to employ other industries including catering facilities, transportation services, and souvenir retailers. (2007) states, "much of the harm that has been perpetuated by dominant society on Indigenous people has been, and continues to be, based on ignorance" (p 3). [...]if such projects are able to adequately educate tourists about contemporary Aboriginal issues with respect to historical events, the presence of hostile negative relationships between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people will be lessened, as ignorance regarding Aboriginal issues becomes something of the past. The St. Eugene Mission, located on reserve land near Cranbrook British Columbia, offers tourists a 4.5 star rated experience with access to an 18-hole golf course, a licensed casino, a gourmet restaurant, and of course luxury accommodations. Pierre refers to the period between the school closure and the re-opening as a "huge white elephant" (Pierre, 2009, p. 42), as it levied high monetary costs for the five bands to keep it running without any benefit to the community.

References

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