This week I’ll be joining the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, the Arizona Game & Fish Department and the Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau on a Destination Steward Workshop during the Arizona Governor’s Conference on Tourism. We’ll be discussing how destinations, organizations and attractions can incorporate the Leave No Trace Philosophy in their own marketing programs. Stay tuned as we get ready to unveil more details on AIANTA’s partnership with Leave No Trace. Or if you’re planning your summer travels, check out our tips on applying Leave No Trace principles when visiting tribal lands.

In 1988, the Poeh Cultural Center & Museum was established as a “gathering place” and a way to promote Pueblo arts and culture. Owned and operated by the Pueblo of Pojoaque, the Poeh Cultural Center is a great example of how tribes have fused cultural arts and tourism into a successful enterprise. The Center’s business module includes a renowned museum, gallery and gift shop, with an emphasis on art programs and classes that teach and sustain traditional arts. The programs offer entrepreneurial opportunities for artists, with beautiful state-of-the-art studios on site. The Center encourages “shop native” and showcases artists by hosting events, gallery exhibitions and art markets. Additionally, the Center, which has one of the most notable fine arts collections in the country, manages a million-dollar art collection at the Buffalo Thunder Resort. Learn how the Center continues to develop new jobs and economic opportunities for the Tribe by creating a world class facility that welcomes visitors while celebrating local culture.

Officially Opening September 18-19

The much-anticipated First Americans Museum is scheduled to open September 18, 2021 in Oklahoma City. The 175,000 square foot project tells the story of the 39 tribes in Oklahoma today. The museum features two long-term exhibitions assembled by the only all-Native curatorial team in the world. The OKLA HOMMA exhibit shares the collective stories of the 39 Tribal Nations from their ancestral homelands to what is now Oklahoma. The second long-term exhibit is WINIKO: LIFE OF AN OBJECT which features approximately 140 objects on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. 

The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) will implement a series of programs, collectively called Investing in America’s Communities, to equitably invest the $3 billion to help communities across the country build back better. The EDA investment is the largest economic development initiative from the Department of Commerce in decades. This plan will include $100 million to Indigenous Community Challenges and $750 million in Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Grants.

As the only organization dedicated to advancing indigenous tourism across the United States, recognizes the best of Indian Country travel and tourism at its annual Excellence in Tourism Industry Awards (formerly known as the Enough Good People Industry Awards) ceremony, held every year during the American Indian Tourism Conference.

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