Tent of Many Voices: 06050504

ladies and gentlemen I'd like to welcome you to the tent of many voices this tent is part of a traveling exhibit that has been following the Lewis and Clark Trail since January of 2003 I've been on this project since last February and we came up the Missouri River from St Louis to North Dakota uh took a break from the trail over the winter and we're back in North Dakota the 1st of April to proceed on just like Lewis and Clark did 200 years ago and we are following in about the same time frame as Lewis and Clark this story is a huge story it is not just a story of Lewis and Clark and the men that went with them across the continent it's also a story of the woman who took her small baby and went on this CrossCountry trip as well it's a story of the Native Americans who were here long before Lewis and Clark and a story of the people who followed after them as well we are very pleased to have with us this hour Dean Bingham who is with the Montana tribal tourism Alliance and she will be talking to us about this organization she is a caborn and black feet so let's please make her welcome thank you again my name is deani bigam and I'm the director of the Montana tribal tourism Alliance and today I'm going to talk to you a little bit about my organization which is called mtta for short and kind of a guide to developing tourism in Montana's American Indian communities and specifically answering the question what is culturally appropriate tourism because I get asked that question a lot because that is the goal of my organization is to develop culturally appropriate tourism on all of the Indian reservations in Montana the Montana tribal tourism Alliance is comprised of membership from the seven reservations in Montana here is a map of Montana with the reservations highlighted and along with that are the tribal emblems for each reservation as the presentation goes forward I'll kind of discuss a little bit more about the details of the tribal emblems and the significance of some of them I'll go over all of the names of the reservations first is the black feet reservation and that has the black feet tribe and the main city in that reservation is Brownie and it's right next to Glacier National Park the Flathead reservation is a confederated tribe of the Salish coutney and Ponder tribes which I believe Believe confederated In 1855 to develop the Flathead reservation Rocky Boy reservation is chipa and cre tribes and now they choose to call themselves chipa cre because the two tribes that were once separate have formed an alliance and now are the chipa cree tribe Fort bellut preservation is home of the groon and ainin tribes two tribes living side by side on one reservation this uh has proved challenging but very interesting for Fort belnap and they are very successful in integrating groon ways and asabin ways the fort peek reservation is also home to the asabin tribe along with the Sue tribe and that again is a reservation that has two tribes that live on the same reservation going down in my part of the country I'm from Billings I live in Billings is the crow reservation which is the largest reservation in Montana and that is home to the Crow tribe or as they call themselves The absal the Northern Cheyenne reservation is bordering the crow reservation and that is home to the Northern Cheyenne or as they also call themselves the sitas people we have a board of directors and all of our board of directors are appointed by their Tribal Council our president is from Fort peek his name is RJ young ionda Henry Thompson is our secretary she works at um the doll knife College in lame deer Montana on the Northern Shan reservation Jason buor is our representative from Rocky boys major Robinson is our representative from the Northern Cheyenne tribe actually that name has changed Mell plain feather is no longer our Crow representative but it is now Latana old elk who took mardell's position she replaced Mardell just very briefly short time ago Clinton Brown is our representative from Fort bellnap and Mary Jane Charlo is our representative from the Flathead reservation as is George heavy Runners are representative from the black feet oh I have Lana's name down here so I did I didn't forget Latana she is our actually our vice president now as well and I and I'm the professional staff the only staff for the Montana tribal tourism Alliance and my name is deani Bingham and I live in Billings and that's where our offices are headquartered our mission is to promote culturally appropriate economic development through tourism and actually the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial has been a very very important part of this development because it has given us a foundation to build off of terms of developing our programming what kind of speakers are very interested in telling their story and working with visitors from around the world so we've really used the bicentennial as a time to identify people on each of the reservations that really are ready to share their story and their history and their culture with visitors from around the world part of mt's goal goal is to have a United voice in tourism development and we really want to tell our stories our way there are so many tribes in Montana and a lot of time stories get filtered and they're not necessarily True Word of Mouth just so many different cultures and we wanted to be able to tell our stories in our own way so that's why one of the reasons why mtta was developed we are also working to protect the Integrity of American Amer Indians through cultural culturally responsible planning and diverse Partnerships this is really important because one thing that the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial has done I believe is that unprecedented cooperation with the tribes of Montana rarely do federal and state and international national agencies reach out to Indians like they have done during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial which is very important what mtta does we have developed what we call tribal Ambassador training and it's a curriculum that kind of helps people decide what they want to talk about in terms of Their Own Story and the story of their family and tribe we've T we're also working cooperatively through marketing Partnerships we do Gathering of artists and package tours and we also facilitate training for tour package development so the big question is what is culturally appropriate tourism one meaning of culture that's a question I get asked a lot what does this culturally appropriate tourism mean and so I was really in search of the meaning of culture so I just went to the good old dictionary to help me find the answer to that question and the dictionary said that the meaning of culture is the totality totality of socially transmitted Behavior patterns Arts beliefs institutions and all other products of human work and thought I thought whoa that doesn't really help me too much because that pretty much encompasses everything so I think what I really got out of that is that culture is changing all the time as we as people change and as our world changes so as Indians we really really have to adapt our culture and make it work for today American Indians live within two cultures and I believe that all Americans live under the broad umbrella of American culture and a lot of times modern American culture is focused on money time technology image predominantly white points of view in terms of the national media where it's a we still live in a very uh I guess you could say European point of view we're very nationalistic and American Indian cultures focus on community issues a lot of times spirituality oral history historical Injustice arts and culture and sovereignty issues sometimes these cultures can Clash but what mtta is trying to do is help people reconcile the clashes between these two cultures so we can move forward and develop tourism and develop Economic Development on our reservations a lot of times this is where um I would have to say the resistance has come from some of the tribal members in terms of cooperating with tribal tourism or maybe even the lwis and Clark by Centennial it is seen sometimes as a manipulation of our culture exploitation stereotypical which can be dehumanizing it's very much entrenched in the myth of the wild west and National folklore and sometimes it is a skewed history this is the worst case scenario and this is something that some of the tribal members have been dealing with for a long time up until we have organizations like mtta have taken it into our own hands to develop our own story um sometimes the worst case scenario can play out in terms of tribal tourism development and of often times tourists can pay non-indians for a false stereotypical American Indian experience which could be uh somebody say from Europe or somebody selling like a teepee or sweat lodge or something like that often times um tourists can be rude and disrespectful and also times I forgot to mention that some of the visitors that they visit perhaps on the reservation can be rude and disrespectful too so these are the worst case scenarios in terms of Tourism development in indan religions can be sold and compromised you can see that sometimes if you look on the internet um people selling sweat lodges or selling suances stuff like that people off oftentimes drive through reservations and do not stop for anything this is a danger in terms of like I said the sweat lodge for sale or the marketing of Native American rituals this is very dangerous and PE some people can use tribes names to Market fake ceremonies and never consult with the tribes mtta we are very aware of this and we do not want to condone this type of behavior in any way so we choose not to uh deal with any sort of ritualistic or spirituality Indian religion in our tourism we kind of leave that to people to kind of seek out on their own the best case scenario is tourism for economic development while still affirming Community Values and cultural Integrity an example of this would be the cheyen TR writers they in Ashland Montana they use their whole entire family to conduct these trail rides and basically they really study the history of the Northern Cheyenne people ethnobotany which is all the flowers and the meanings of all of the different medicinal uses of the plants on the Northern Cheyenne reservation the Wranglers are experienced beautiful scenery and a warm family experience and horses which is very important to tribal tourism the I'm going to just kind of fly by these tourism niches and markets because these are kind of the areas in that we are looking to develop in terms of tribal tourism nature ecotourism emphasizes the natural world Montana is a very beautiful state so we want to really explore the flora fauna and ethnobotany but also leave an undetectable small footprint on the natural world and the natural attractions are I mean living in Fort Bon you guys understand natural attractions because this is a very beautiful little town so I don't think I need really need to go into the natural attractions ecotourism would be hiking walking tours bird watching horseback riding fishing stargazing Wildlife viewing so what we want to do what we really want to help the tribes do is get to know the natural attractions in their Community because most of these natural wonders need protection and not promotion and we can by identifying these areas we can find and develop areas for activity divert attention and interest from areas that we want to preserve and protect cultural tourism would be included in Fine Arts and museums arts and craft shows that's a very important part in my mind because there are so many wonderful Indian artists in the state of Montana a lot of times though they are working very hard to to get their work done to do their art and they don't know how to Market themselves or their work necessarily so mtta really helps people Market their work and we try to find places for them to show their work uh museums interpretive centers restaurants Wellness Resorts gift shops these are all areas that we're really seeking to develop Heritage tourism focuses on the story of people and places told through interpretation of cult cultural landscapes preservation of or restoration of historic structures this would include battle sites like the Little Big Horn battle um Battlefield pictograph caves traditional games archaeological sites encampments like the one that we're going to have in Great Falls um at the end of this month for explore the Big Sky music festivals Etc cultural heritage tourism is kind of a high hrid of e tourism cultural tourism and Heritage tourism and cultural heritage tourism is planned and implemented with Community involvement and support is respectful of family stories and doesn't trivialize or commercialize Indian cultures Recreation and Adventure tourism is very common and activity driven this is another area that we'd be interested in developing because there's a lot of people who are very into staying in shape and and kind of adventurous types and on the reservations there's a lot of places that we would like to be able to explore this kind of Adventure tourism as well here are some of the activities I won't go through them framework for tourism development what I really look for is work against any exploitation of people land and culture balance entertainment with education urge community members to tell their own story in their own way and build tourism programs that benefit the people in the tribe both financially and socially a lot of times I think that the social problems are more important than the financial problems of some people just because we have money in our pockets doesn't mean that um our community is necessarily any better off so we really want to develop tourism in a way that helps us sleep at night in a good way we feel good about ourselves and what we're doing and what we're sharing with people visitors and the community attributes for Success this is a lot harder than it seems sometimes an open Friendly personality supportive friends and family detailed plans for business businesses and marketings punctuality uh these are things that sometimes people don't associate with Indians necessarily and so we're trying to work hard finding the people who we would consider as very open and friendly who could put their best foot forward in representing their tribe and who are very punctual and strong networkers because these are elements of success that we really really at mtta need to develop for us to be successful in tribal tourism obstacles of course are money and infrastructure anybody who goes anywhere along the Highline or on the reservations know that infrastructure is sometimes sorely lacking there's not necessarily really great Fairgrounds or uh even restaurants in some cases so this is an issue that we really need to work on too because we want people to feel comfortable in the reservation communities land use issues racism it still exists as as hard as that may be to accept but it still exist so we are working on that and we want to give ourselves the best tools to deal with those kind of situations if they should occur education seasonal we need more trained personnel and sadly but surely politics tribal politics does uh hinder some of our tribal tourism development at times assets uh we have strong American Indian cultures in Montana I've traveled all over the state and a lot of times people lose their way of life especially if you go east of the Mississippi River a lot of the tribes have lost a lot of their language and cultures and traditions and they actually really look towards the Montana tribes the North Dakota South Dakota tribes and often times kind of use our culture as a substitute of their own in a way because theirs has been lost so I've traveled all over the country and I'd have to say that Montana our tribes are very strong in our cultures in our history in our way of life we there's a great interest in American Indian way of life I know that because people like yourselves come to these the tent of many voices they go to all of the different educational programming that they know that a Native American is going to be speaking there's interest in powow there's interest in Indian art so I'm really really feel good about the interest that there is in American Indian way of life and I think that it's a really posit postive change we have beautiful natural resources there's lots of talent and enthusiasm especially among our younger Indians that we're really ready to put our best foot forward and show the world what we have I consider Montana tribal tourism an asset and we also have strong Partnerships with travel Montana the Lewis and Clark B Centennial commission explore the Big Sky all of uh National Park Service all of the great organizations and important issues intellectual and cultural property rights this is issue that when you talk with any American Indian who's sharing their story I think that is something that they're interested in learning about because in the past sometimes people will share a story to a group of people a very important historical or cultural story and then that story may be printed in a book without recognition of the person who told that story so we're really interested interested in learning our rights when it comes to the rights sacred sites on and off the reservation I consider the entire state of Montana a sacred site but there are a lot of really special sites on and off the reservation that we are working with a whole bunch of different organizations to help preserve rude disrespectful tourists those are important issues because often times especially if we're dealing with somebody maybe from back east or something who's very uh opinionated about what they think it's up to us to really learn how to put our best foot forward and deal with them in the best way training and educating for tourism jobs that's not doesn't really happen too much in Montana also how much to charge tourists that's another issue because we really need to think about not selling our s short but also not charging too much to The Tourist tourism can bring much-needed dollars and jobs directly to our communities and open the doors to funding that can establish cultural community centers and interpretive sites help preservation for land and language and Foster a new generation of small success successful businesses on the reservations here's a glimpse of Montana's reservations the fort peek reservation is home to the Cino and Sue tribes it was EST established in 1871 there's more than 2 million Acres on that reservation the southern border is the Missouri River and the northern border is 50 Mi south of Canada and there's lots of open prairies and Farms fart peek attractions include the Asino and Sue Culture Center and museum in popler which features a permanent exhibit of Asino and Sue Heritage arts and crafts the fort pet Community College which has the upper Missouri River Institute and gift shop and annually it sponsors seven powow which is the most of any other reservation there's excellent dancers rodeos arts and crafts sports the for pek Cino and Su tribal flag was designed by Rosco White Eagle and it symbolizes two chiefs holding the sacred Buffalo robe to signify the bond between the two tribes living together harmony the fort bnat reservation is home of the groon or as they refer to themselves the aan or the people of the white clay and the asabin which is nakota or generous ones the land base of 650,000 Acres which has Plains and grasslands it's Prime Buffalo country Fort belnap attractions include Buffalo tours and reservation tours the scenic Mission Canyon south of lots of Wildlife and hunting and fishing and the fort belnap flag symbolizes a traditional Shield that protects both tribes the circular shape of the shield represents the circle of life the buffalo skull symbolizes the two tribes different colors but functioning as a whole the white Jagged line on the buffalo skull represents the Milk River the snake but a place of sacred power is Illustrated above the skull and two arrowheads signify strong traditional ties with the past Seven Feathers hang from the shield there is a feather for every two of the 12 council members with a c Center feather for the chairman the chipa Creed tribe of the Rocky Boy reservation is located in North Central Montana near the bepa mountains right close to where you guys are it's home to the Creed descendants from Canada and from chipa that had moved East from the tur mountains in North Dakota Rocky Boy attractions include Bea SK bow and they're also developing their own tour packages for specifically for hunting the Rocky Boy flag uh the sun's Ray symbolizes sacred grass dance Chiefs active in preserving chipa Creek culture and the writing Under the Sun represents good health and Fortune for the tribe there's also some very other important things um integrated like the teepee which is the home the sweet grass which is a very important part of our daily prayers I guess you could say a lot of people believe that when you burn the sage or and the sweet grass the smoke carries your prayers up to the Creator the black feet tribe has a reservation land base of 1.5 million Acres bordered by Canada and Glacier National Park the black feet name derived from blackened moccasins they wore it's not quite clear if the moccasins were blackened by like fire sitting very close to the fire kind of warming up your feet or if we actually had paint and painted the bottoms of our moccasins black the black feed attractions include home of the Museum of the Plains Indian beautiful scenery and Wildlife North American Indian Day celebration and the also have a really great website called blackfeet nation.com the blackfeet flag has acoustic with 29 ankle feathers acoustic is very important because it was used by our Warriors and the Warriors would count coup on their enemy and when you counted coup on your enemy it it told your enemy that you respected him enough to not kill him but get in close enough to touch him so he knew that if the time came you really could but it's a respectful form of warfare I believe the acoustic is and also it symbolizes the strength of a warrior the black feet reservation outlined in the middle of the circle of 32 eagle feathers and the bonei branch of the Blackfoot Confederacy is in Montana you can see that it says the black feet Nation ponei that's what the black feet in Montana refer to themselves as as pikuni s6a and the blood branches are in Canada the Flathead reservation Confederacy was formed by the Hellgate Treaty of 1855 the Confederacy made up of the Ponder Callis spells Cy and the Salish tribes the Flathead attractions include the people Center which is right in Pablo and it has native Adventures which is a very informative daily kind of program for visitors Flathead Lake traditional encampments and lots of powow the flag of the Salish cutney and Ponder tribes is significant for the power of the Sun that is the sun that's behind the teepee the blue water from the mountains which is uh I believe it's a right by what and recognized in their treaties that the water that comes off off of the mountains the mission mountains off of the reservation is the property of the tribes the mountains signify Earth and the Tepe represents home the seven eagle feathers and the bow and arrow represent protection of the Homeland the crow or absal tribe Crow AB absal translates as children of the large beak bird 85% of the tribal members speak Crow as their first language and it's located in South Central Montana they have a large buffalo herd in vast coal deposits that I think they're looking at developing probably right as I speak um Crow reservation has more people speaking their language than any other reservation in Montana Crow attractions in include abzal tours which goes daily to the battle of the Little Big Horn the Big Horn Canyon yellowtail Dam the battlefield in Chief PLU State Park which is in honor of the last crowchief plen coup the Absol flag signifies the white Tepe is a symbol of life with four poles as the base the Crow tribe is one of the only tribes in Montana that has four poles as their base of their Tepe rather than three and I was I was with um spent a whole bunch of time with some crows and they were talking about the when you the TB poles signify the man and the woman and the daughter and the son and also when you when you uh put the stakes into the teepe the bottom of the teepee that is significant of badger cloth and you have to kind of dig the pole or the stakes in the Tepe pretty well because it holds down like a badger would hold down a pipe is a sacred gift the Crow tribe also has a sacred tobacco plant and the three mountain ranges on the crow reservation the war bonnets represent the warrior Society of the crow good men from the mother's Clan and good men from the father's Clan the last reservation is the northern Chyenne the home of the cistas or human beings they have a smaller reservation 437 acres in southeast Montana and in this emblem is pictures of the two famous last Northern Cheyenne Chiefs which were little little little wolf and doll knife Northern Cheyenne attractions include the John Wooden legs Memorial Library Fourth of July paow in Lamer the Labor Day poow in Ashland crazy head Springs and the Tongue River the northern cheyen flight is a very simple but beautiful flag the symbol in the middle is the morning star or W the name of the great Chief morning star or dull knife and it's the first star to rise in the morning and you can contact me through this information right here we do have a website and it's www.bb.com and that website kind of goes over a lot of different things um there's information about all the tribes there's also a lot of Lewis and Clark information on our website and visitor protocol information information for people who are interested in going on trail rides all different kinds of stuff so if you have a chance please visit the website and you can learn even more about mtta so I'd like to I'm the one who developed this PowerPoint presentation I'd like to give thanks to tribal planning Services another IND an owned organization that I work with that helps me develop my PowerPoint presentations and the National Park Service challenge kosare Grant thank you to all Montana Indian tribal governments and business people and there's a tribal tourism toolkit that was sponsored by the Louis and Clark B Centennial that really helped a lot of the tribes kind of figure out what we want to do with tribal tourism and help us develop a framework that would allow us to do that responsibly so thank you very much do any of you have any questions you'd like to ask deani about uh tribal tourism and or about the development of tribal tourism or just visiting in Native lands if you have any questions we'll be glad to feel them at this time all right let's give Dean a big hand thank you very much for coming it was our pleasure to have you here today thank you please come back and join