Indigenous tourism in Canada is booming.
More and more travelers want to get an insight into the world of the First Nations. In this blog post, I present five indigenous tourism tours where you can immerse yourself in the rich culture and traditions of Canada's indigenous people.
Culture is identity. Whether at the big Powwow in Calgary , whale watching off Vancouver Island or at the " Fireside Chat " with Matricia in Jasper National Park in the Rocky Mountains: more and more indigenous people in Canada are discovering their roots and sharing them with interested visitors.
Silence. A powerful, deep drumbeat. A heartbeat pause... until the second beat pierces the silence.
The deep bass of the bison skin drum can not only be heard, its vibration can be felt throughout the body. It is the heartbeat of the drum, the heartbeat of the indigenous people of Canada, the heartbeat of the powwow.
Fireside chat with the "Warrior Woman" in Jasper
(You can book tours with Matricia here )
“Have you ever heard the drums and the call of the singers?”
asks Matricia Bauer, who founded "Warrior Woman" with her daughter Mackenzie to fight for the preservation and revival of indigenous culture in Canada. Not with weapons, but with workshops and shared experiences. A small group of tourists have gathered around the crackling campfire in Canada's Jasper National Park to better listen to the stories and songs of the charismatic indigenous woman.
"If so, it will stay with you forever. The powwow drums and singing awaken something deep within us - to us, it is the heartbeat of Mother Earth, the first sound heard in the world. You hear the beat of the drum and suddenly you are transported back to an old memory of the land, of another time, of another language that beats deeper than any words. It brings the soul back into balance by dancing, singing and listening to the heartbeat."
A balance that was thrown off by the arrival of the Europeans. For several centuries, the indigenous people in Canada were oppressed and were not allowed to live out their culture and traditions.
“As a kid I didn’t want to be a native”
admits Matricia. "But the more I dealt with my past - the more I read, listened, talked to people, the more I felt connected and wanted to know more. At some point I realized: hey, I have great ancestors that I can be proud of. And now I want to pass that on. Obviously with success - Matricia is now a sought-after keynote speaker, she makes dream catchers and pearl bracelets with children in schools and she collects medicinal herbs with tourists in workshops.
Little is known in this country about the dark past of Canada's indigenous people. From the second half of the 19th century until 1996, children like Matricia Bauer were robbed of their original culture in residential schools, as the church-run boarding schools for Aborigines are also called, far away from their families. Among other things, their hair was shaved upon arrival and they were not allowed to speak their own language.
2. Powwow at the Stampede in Calgary
(You can find more information here and on my blog post )
One exception was the Calgary Stampede - according to its own statement, the largest outdoor show in the world. Once a year, in July, the city in Alberta becomes a cowboy stronghold; the only people who stand out (and Europeans will have to get used to it) are those who are not wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. One of the largest rodeo shows in the world takes place on the huge grounds, including covered wagon races and agricultural competitions. Since the first event in 1886, the five local First Nations have also been involved. The Tsuu T'ina, Piikani, Stoney, Kainai and Siksika clans set up camp every year on the banks of the Elbow River in the southern part of Stampede Park. They set up their hand-painted, sometimes colorful and symbolic tipis, hold powwows, offer arts and crafts and let the now more than a million visitors share in their culture. Every year, an Indian princess is chosen from one of the five nations and must prove herself in various competitions, including horse riding.
Amber Big Plum was the Indigenous Princess of the Year 2013.
Click on the first picture to start the photo series
“Here at the Stampede, my ancestors were able to hold a powwow, even though we were otherwise forbidden to practice our traditions”
Amber tells a group of visitors who are showing her around the site. "Several times in the past, our participation was banned. The Department of Indian Affairs wanted to wipe out our culture." But fortunately, the organizers were always able to get the First Nations to participate.
Since then, the three-day Calgary Stampede powwow has become an ever-growing crowd puller. In 2022, it was held for the first time in the Saddledome with a capacity of over 19,000 seats to give even more spectators the opportunity to experience Aboriginal culture while the artists compete for $175,000 in prize money. The competition takes place in several categories and is separated by gender. There are, for example, traditional or grass dances. The highlight is the chicken dance.
3. Talking Tree Tour in Vancouver's Stanley Park
You can book the tour here .
At the “Talking Tree Tour” in Vancouver, Seraphine Lewis greets her group in the local Squamish dialect with
“Halhskwel” – which in English means “a beautiful blue sky day”.
The languages of the indigenous peoples had almost died out due to oppression, and only a few people could speak them. Now they are being taught again in kindergartens and schools, and there are bachelor's degree programs with an indigenous language as a focus. As we walk through Stanley Park, Seraphine tells us how her ancestors have used trees and plants for food, medicine, and technology for thousands of years. Traditions that have been preserved to some extent to this day: "When we harvest salmonberries (a type of raspberry), we only take a third of the fruit, leaving the rest for the animals and for sowing. Trees are part of our family. When we cut down a tree, all parts are used.
4. As before - Ksan Historical Village
Here you can find information about the open-air museum.
The inhabitants of the village of Gitxsan also did not waste any resources. 180 miles east of Prince Rupert lies the Ksan Historical Village & Museum , a reconstructed village of the clan. The artistically carved totem poles tower impressively into the sky. Oversized bird beaks, frogs, wolves and small people are depicted on them.
The wooden longhouses are painted with almost modern-looking symbols in bright red. Ashtan, a young woman with long black hair and a red T-shirt, leads a small group of visitors into the Wolf House, where festivals were traditionally held.
"Everything you see here is made of cedar wood: ropes, clothes, mats. The bark was soaked in water and the fibers were then woven."
A total of over 600 exhibits such as ceremonial masks, button blankets, shaman equipment, fishing and hunting utensils, colorful masks, boxes, rattles provide a good insight into the way of life of the indigenous people before the arrival of the settlers, in which animals also had an important spiritual position.
5. Searching for whales and bears in the Broughton Archipelago Park off Vancouver Island
You can book tours with Sea Wolf Adventures here .
The bear is called "Grandfather" because of its strength, leadership, trust and courage, and the orca is considered a symbol of romance because it stays with one partner for life. There are also now many indigenous operators in the field of wildlife watching who not only show tourists whales or bears, but also convey their importance to their people. For example , Sea Wolf Adventures , which offers guided tours to see grizzly bears and whales in the Broughton Archipelago Park , the largest marine park in British Columbia. It consists of a collection of isolated islands near the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The islands have been used by the indigenous people for generations.
Early in the morning, fog lies over the mountains. The rising sun colors the gray world a warm orange-red. In front of the boat, white-sided dolphins dance in the waves, a bald eagle rises majestically into the sky from a giant tree. Alan Hunt, skipper and artist (his works of art have been on display at the Documenta in Kassel, among other places), scans the mussel beds that the ebbing tide is exposing.
“We Kwakwaka'wakw have a saying: When the tide goes out, the table is richly laid”
he says as he skilfully steers the boat through the narrow waterways of the islands. The grizzlies that live here also seem to know this saying. A strong female bear climbs through the trees and down the cliffs to the beach with astonishing agility and elegance for her size. She easily turns huge boulders in search of mussels and crabs. The tourists on board hardly dare to breathe so as not to disturb the magic of the moment. Alan beats a drum quietly - rhythmically, evenly like the heartbeat of nature.