A blend of indigenous culture and history with luxury lodging and native gourmet foods create unforgettable experiences
You were expecting just totem poles and casinos? Across the country , Canada’s First Nations offer travellers a 21st century take on Aboriginal tourism as indigenous culture and history come together with luxury lodging and authentic cuisine to radically redefine visitor’s expectations.
In British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, the Osoyoos Indian Band operates North America’s first native owned winery. Walk the vineyards of Nk’Mip Cellars, high above Osoyoos Lake, where grapes grown on Aboriginal land are pressed into some of Canada’s best reds and whites. The adjacent Spirit Ridge Resort offers luxury accommodation in Canada’s only desert, while the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre highlights the regions history and natural treasures.
For a dizzying glimpse on Canada’s past , visit the evocatively named Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump near rural Fort Macleod, Alberta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Aboriginal peoples used this clifftop location for more than 6,000 years to drive bison over the precipice whilst hunting. Stop in the $10 million interpretative centre for exhibits on the culture of the Plains people and to book tours with local Blackfoot guides.
In the remote Northwest Territories , not too far from the Arctic Circle, tag along with Dene First Nation story teller Doug Lamalice for an extraordinary tour, Walk a Mile in my Moccasins. Deep inside the Twin Falls Territorial Park, join Lamalice for a fire feeding ceremony led by a Dene Elder. Then embark on a 2.5 km (1.6mile) walk through the traditional territory of the K’atlo’deeche peoples , learning how they lived off the land in the harshest of conditions as well as about their rich ceremonies and the challenges of contemporary life.
Back east in Ontario, Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron – the world’s largest lake island – is the setting for the Great Spirit Circle Tour, a network of Aboriginal guided adventure, dining and craft experiences . Grab a paddle for a canoe tour and listen to the stories of the Ojibwe, Odawe and Pottawatomi peoples whilst gliding along the shore line. Spend the night on the island ‘glampground’, where traditional teepes have been outfitted with wood floors and plus beds. Come morning, harvest traditional foods and cook bannock bread over the open fire.
Authentic experiences needn’t always be remote. Just a short drive outside Quebec City in Wendake, is the Huron Wendat Nation homeland. Here visitors can spend the night in a traditional long house looked after by an Aboriginal firekeeper and also enjoy a gourmet take on native recipes over a three course dinner. The experience is part of the larger Huron Villlage, which includes a four star boutique hotel modelled after a longhouse, a museum and historic sites dating back to the 16th Century.
Finally, Atlantic Canada’s rich Aboriginal heritage is on display at the Metepanagiag Heritage Park in New Brunswick. Home of the Mi’kmaq First Nation, the village is the oldest continually inhabited site in the province. The museum outlines the rich 3000 year old history of the locals, offering visitors the chance to sample fresh mooose meat and bake traditional bread in hot sand. You can also spend the night in the adjoining four star outdoor adventure lodge, which serves gourmet Aboriginal Cuisine on the banks of the Little Southwest Miramachi River.
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