Indigenous Resources for Hospitality and Tourism Programs

Our hosts, Kris and Sarain dig deeper into the world of Archaeology, preservation of artefacts and protection of ceremonial items. In Six Nations, they meet with Artist/Curator Tom Hill of the Woodland Cultural Centre who speaks about the rematriation of museum practices. Then they travel to Ottawa and join Jaime Koebel on her Indigenous Walking Tour through the city. At the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Sarain and Kris learn how to make their own moccasins with Sage Petahtegoose from the Manitobah Mukluk Storyboot School.

Summary: Getting Together looks at the need to take account of the specific requirements of Aboriginal communities when designing recreation programs and to recognise the necessity of introducing culturally appropriate activities into those communities. The recreational choices available are often much wider than first thought, and they may be used to bring the community together. This program shows examples of successful recreational activities in Aboriginal communities that can be organised at minimal cost. From Bickerton Island and Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory, to Cherbourg and Inala in Queensland, activities such as bush pony club, theatre, contemporary music and traditional carving and painting are organised by local people for local people. Produced for the Department of Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories. Copyright - 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Producer: Rachel Dixon Director: Prue Adams Writer: Prue Adams DOP/Cinematographer: John Whitteron.

Summary: The Mursi tribe resides in the basin of the Omo River, in the east African state of Ethiopia. Mursi women are known for placing large plates in their lower lips and wearing enormous, richly decorated earrings, which has become a subject of tourist attraction in recent years. Each year, hundreds of Western tourists come to see the unusually adorned natives; posing for camera-toting visitors has become the main source of income for the Mursi. To make more money, they embellish their "costumes" and finery to appear more exotic to the outsiders. However, by exaggerating their habits and lifestyle in such a manner they are beginning to cause their original, authentic culture to disintegrate. Framing the Other portrays the complex relationship between tourism and indigenous communities by revealing the intimate and intriguing thoughts of a Mursi woman from Southern Ethiopia and a Dutch tourist as they prepare to meet each other. This humorous, yet simultaneously chilling film shows the destructive impact tourism has on traditional communities. Filmmaker: Ilja Kok, Willem Timmers.

WEAVING THE FUTURE is a video portrait of a unique indigenous community living in the Andean highlands of northern Ecuador. The people of Otavalo have successfully adapted their traditions of weaving and crafts to the international marketplace. Selling their textiles in the U.S., Europe and even in Japan, the Otavalos are by any measure the most prosperous Native people in South America. Theirs is a fascinating story of economic success and social change.