Share

14.2 (Summer 1990) Breaking out of the Tourist Trap Part 2

Tourism, Conservation, and Culture in the Kalahari Desert, Botswana

The impacts of tourism on indigenous peoples is a subject of concern in both anthropology and socioeconomic development (Smith 1977a, 1977b; Swain 1977; Wu 1982; Wood 1984). As Smith (1977a:3) notes, tourism can be a powerful force in bringing about cultural change. On the positive side, it can heighten people's appreciation of indigenous customs and serve as a source of employment and income. Tourism can, however, also exacerbate problems of factionalism and social stratification in local communities and disrupt people's daily routines.

Tourism to the Rescue?

One of the most dramatic wilderness battles in Canada was fought over the fate of a chain of magnificent islands known to the Haida Indians as Gwaii Haanas, "place of wonder and beauty." On most maps, the archipelago, 130 km off the northwest coast of British Columbia, just south of the Alaska panhandle, appears as the "Queen Charlotte Islands." The islands are remote and romantic, misty and mystical, and have been home to the Haida for a very long time.

A Heritage from a Clamshell

Tourism Research: Resources and Trends

Tourism research in North America developed in the early 1970s, more than a decade after the introduction of jet airplanes and the subsequent expansion of the tourist industry. In the 1970s the World Bank was funding resort projects in the Third World, using international tourism as a tool for economic development. It was inevitable that social scientists would become aware of the economic, environmental, and sociocultural impacts created by changing values toward the use of leisure time and discretionary income.

The Portals of Tradition: Tourism in the American Southwest

Tourism is big business in the American Southwest. In the state of New Mexico, for example, the travel industry is now a billion-dollar enterprise and the number one employer. Native culture is one of the drawing cards for that industry; many tourists feel that seeing and interacting with "real Indians" adds an important dimension to their travel experience.

Sustainable Development: Whatever Happened to Hana?

Through a number of influential conferences in the 1970s and 1980s held by organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the UN Environmental Program, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and the World Resources Institute, it became abundantly clear, especially from a Third World viewpoint, that no economic development would ever exhibit permanent and sustained viability unless the economy were linked with environment and society in a threefold, interactive development system.

Sustainable Development: Buzzword or Realistic Goal?

Justifying Injustice: Law and "Tradition" as Moral Argument?

This article is a response to an article in Cultural Survival Quarterly 12(3), by Fay G. Cohen and Vivian L. Bowden, entitled "A Legacy Restored." It is part of an ongoing dialogue on the Boldt Decision, a landmark ruling on fishing rights in Washington State.

Innu Women and NATO: The Occupation of Nitassinan

Militarism is a form of colonization which takes away from our lives. That future is without hope for us. But, we will fight for our rights. I believe in nonviolence and civil disobedience. I am ready to go to jail, to take blows or die for our cause, because I believe in the struggle for the freedom of my people. I don't want your sympathy, I want your support, your strong and collective support against the oppression of your government. What are need is your resistance." Penote Ben Michel made this plea at a 31 January 1987 conference in Montreal on militarism in Labrador/Nitassinan.

From the Taj to the Tiger

Although the natural heritage of the Indian subcontinent remains largely unstudied and underappreciated, the range and diversity of its biological wealth matches the grandeur and magnificence of its historic civilization. Geological events that took place millions of years ago have created an incomparable diversity of ecosystems. Positioned at the confluence of three biogeographic realms, India's ecosystems harbor African, European, Chinese, and Indo-Malayan elements.

Editorial: Earth Day 1990

Earth Day, April 22, is an important occasion for all of us. We could simply allow the day to come and go, or we can use it as a starting point for determining our goals and actions for the next decade: to halt the environmental degradation that confronts us at every turn.

Syndicate content

Cultural Survival helps Indigenous Peoples around the world defend their lands, languages, and cultures as they deal with issues like the one you’ve just read about.

Learn More

To read about Cultural Survival’s work around the world, click here. To read more articles on the subject use our Search function and explore 40 years of information
on Indigenous issues.

Do More

For ways to take action to help Indigenous communities, click here.

Donate

We take on governments and multinational corporations—and they always have more resources than we do—but with the help of people like you, we do win. Your contribution is crucial to that effort. Click here to do your part.