In this episode of The ReMembering and ReEnchanting Podcast with host Sara Jolena Wolcott and guest Dr. Alexis Bunten, we engage with questions around tourism and traveling. We
- Start with history, the colonial gaze, and its impact on today's tourism and travel ‘explorations’
- Look at the dangers of "Disneylandification"
- Consider both 'sides' (the tourist and the native) experience of cultural tourism
- Go into some basic (but often not followed) things to consider when you are the one doing the tourism/traveling
- Alexis gives some suggestions for native-led tourist organizations
Timestamps:
1:37 - Introduction to Alexis Bunten
5:48 - What Alexis learned from tracing the history of tourism and how she sees those histories shape tourism today
15:50 - What’s the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation?
19:08 - What does it mean to “Explore”?
24:03 - Disneylandification vs. Deep Cultural Learning
29:44 - Tourism today vs. tourism 20 years ago.
46:38 - How can people engage in the native-owned tourist experience?
55:00 - How can tourist guides facilitate visitors in connecting with the local culture?
Books written/co-written by Dr. Alexis:
So, How Long Have You Been Native?: Life as an Alaska Native Tour Guide
Indigenous Tourism Movements
Join Bioneers in their next gathering on March 28-30, 2024 in Berkeley, CA
You might be interested in our previous episodes with Bioneers' co-founder Nina Simons (Lifting Up Culture Doctors) and a recent speaker at Bioneers, Erin Matiriki Carr (ReMembering the Sovereign Forest).
Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya
Music Title: Both of Us
Music by: madiRFAN
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