Celebrating Native American Heritage Month with Sherry Rupert

Intro: This is Brand USA Talks Travel, elevating the conversation about international travel to the United States. Here's your host, Mark Lapidus.

Mark Lapidus [0:09]: So the last time I saw you, you didn't see me. I was walking by a room at ESTO, and I heard all this noise and applause, it sounded like there was a party going on. So I popped my head in, and who is speaking but you, Sherry? You were speaking, and the crowd was just loving it. And I could only drop in for a few minutes, because I was podcasting live from there, and what I heard was great. You were always terrific at conferences and conventions.

Sherry Rupert [0:33]: Oh, I appreciate that. Thank you.

Mark Lapidus [0:35]: Yeah, I really mean it. Before I properly introduce you, and I will do that in a second, can you give those unfamiliar with AIANTA the elevator speech?

Sherry Rupert [0:43]: Sure. Well, we've been around for quite some time, about 25 years. We've served as the only national organization dedicated to advancing cultural heritage tourism in Native nations and communities across these United States. Our organization was established by tribes, for tribes to address inequities in the tourism system. We are a National Native Nonprofit, so a 501(c)3 here in the U.S., and we're governed by an all-Native board of directors, and we serve as a united voice for the $15.7 billion Native hospitality sector.

Mark Lapidus [1:19]: I know that you're continually traveling, but where do you actually live?

Sherry Rupert [1:22]: I actually live in Albuquerque, New Mexico right now. But I am a Native Nevadan, I am both Paiute and Washoe from Nevada.

Mark Lapidus [1:31]: Nice. I am so glad - you can probably tell by my voice here - to welcome back Sherry Rupert, it's always a pleasure speaking with her. She's the CEO of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association; that's a mouthful, and that's why I think many people call it AIANTA. Sherry also holds leadership positions on various national boards, including the Board of Directors for U.S. Travel, the America250 Hospitality and Tourism Advisory Committee, and the National Park Service Advisory Board Tourism Committee. That's a lot of committees, Sherry.

Sherry Rupert [1:59]: It is, it is, but it's all great work. We need to ensure that we have the Indigenous voice in all of these different areas.

Mark Lapidus [2:08]: Well, I'm excited to welcome you back to Brand USA Talks Travel. Now, every November, we celebrate Native American Heritage Month on this podcast, and today we'll be covering AIANTA's new partnerships and initiatives that are shaping the future of Indigenous tourism. So, Sherry, start by giving us an update. What is the latest with your organization?

Sherry Rupert [2:26]: Well, we continue to grow. We have some new partnerships that are coming along, and some new partnerships that we've actually just formalized. And I think we're going to talk a bit about that, but really what it comes down to is we're seeing an increased demand for Indigenous tourism, actually, around the world. It's really been a critical time for us to build all of these partnerships for our members and to build partnerships with other Indigenous people around the world, so we can have that unified voice and really be at the forefront of telling our own stories. I think that's really what it comes down to. Others have told our stories for years, and now it's our opportunity to come forward and say, "This is who we are, and this is who we want you to know, and this is what we have to share with you."

Mark Lapidus [3:19]: You know, the minute you told me this a few years ago, it made perfect sense to me, because I've been making television programs for a long time, and I would say that the commonality in it is that if you don't have the people whose story you're telling involved right from the beginning, you can't tell an authentic story. It's impossible, because we all come to screen with our own biases and history. And if you're not part of that culture, you just can't do it. So the partnership, I believe, is essential.

Sherry Rupert [3:47]: Yeah. And, you know, I've been to different visitor centers and on different tours that were non-Indigenous owned, and just really listened to what they have to say about the native people, or seen exhibits, and all it will say is, you know, "Paiute basket." But what does that mean? What was that used for? Who made it? What resources did they use to make it? I mean, there's just so much more than just a very brief title of an object. And we, as the Indigenous people, are the people that can tell those stories.

Mark Lapidus [4:21]: I know from speaking to you previously also that not everybody thinks the same way, even among tribal nations. So, how important is travel and tourism as a general economic development driver to most tribal nations?

Sherry Rupert [4:34]: Yeah, you know, it's different for every Native nation and community, but we're seeing more and more the Native nations including tourism as an economic driver. It always hasn't been the case; tourism's kind of been a dirty word in some of the communities, and so we've changed that, and are utilizing tourism as an economic driver, but also to tell the stories of who these tribes are. I think they understand now the importance of educating the public, of telling their own stories from their perspective, and sharing what they want to share. That's, I think, always been the challenge in some of the tribes is that, hey, we see this as beneficial, but on the other hand, it can go too far. It can be more detrimental to our communities than beneficial. So I think those tribes have been able to see that they can manage tourism on certain parts of their reservation; you see tribes really separating their tourism areas from their community areas. So that's definitely been a development among the Native nations.

Mark Lapidus [5:43]: I understand that AIANTA recently partnered with the National Tour Association. Tell us about that.

Sherry Rupert [5:48]: Yeah, we recently signed an agreement with the National Tour Association, who have really been partners with us for a long time. We just formalized it in an MOU, and really, what it's about is, for our part, educating the travel trade, the tour operators, about working with Indigenous people, working with our Native nations and tribal governments, how all of that works, and giving them the tools that we've created to help them to do that successfully.

Mark Lapidus [6:18]: You recently released a new guide in partnership with Leave No Trace. Love those guys. And it's titled, "How to Responsibly Visit Tribal Nations and Alaska Native Villages." Why is it important, and where do people find it?

Sherry Rupert [6:30]: We were just talking about the National Tour Association and that partnership. And another partnership, as you mentioned, Leave No Trace, perfectly aligns with the values that we have as Indigenous people. We often talk about sustainable tourism, ensuring what we're doing today will be sustainable for our next generations. And I know for me, that's my why; that's why I do this work, is to ensure that we have these beautiful lands and waters for our next generations. Because these things have been gifted to us in our lifetime, and we want to preserve them for our next generations. So with Leave No Trace, when this all came about was actually during Covid, and I was getting phone calls from tribal leaders saying, "All of these people are coming out from the cities, and they're coming onto our tribal lands, and they're not adhering to our closed borders. They're knocking down our signs and our barricades, saying that these are public lands, that they're their lands, and they can do anything that they want on them." So what I thought about was, well, how do we educate the public about the difference between public lands and tribal lands? And so we thought, let's partner with Leave No Trace, who has an extensive network, really around the globe, and we can work together to co-create a guide for those non-Indigenous guests that are coming to our homelands.

Sherry Rupert [7:56]: So we created this guide, or this entry point, for non-Indigenous guests. I think it's been really helpful. The media has picked it up; the travel trade really likes it as well, because we can educate guests before they even come. They will know our expectations in advance. And I think that bodes really well for a successful visit.

Mark Lapidus [8:17]: That's great. Where do people find it?

Sherry Rupert [8:18]: They can find it on our website, at Aianta.org, under our Resources tab.

Mark Lapidus [8:23]: We've talked about a few things that are a little controversial, but I'd like to actually talk about some positivity here. Can you give us a few examples of things that are going really well with tourism in tribal communities?

Sherry Rupert [8:34]: You know, we talked about the education piece, and that happens a lot in the tribal museums and cultural centers. So a lot of the first-time visitors to our Native nations and communities, that's always a good place to start, because those centers are where the tribal story has been vetted by the community. They're stories that the community is willing to share with the public. So we're seeing more and more of those museums and cultural centers popping up all over Indian country. And it's really great to see, because some of them are just really, really amazing what they've been able to do with technology to be able to tell those stories. If I could give a few examples-

Mark Lapidus [9:19]: Yeah, I'd love to hear it.

Sherry Rupert [9:20]: -the Agua Caliente tribe in Palm Springs, they have their new cultural plaza, downtown Palm Springs, right on the site of the original spring that Palm Springs is named for. And they have this beautiful museum cultural center there where they tell the story of their people with the latest technology. It's really something to see. And then right next door they have the Spa at Seć-he. That's where they have just beautiful architecture, and they've included Indigenous resources into their spa treatments. That's a really amazing sight to see.

Mark Lapidus [9:55]: You know what, Sherry, before you go on, I have to interject to tell our listeners that we actually have a podcast episode about that.

Sherry Rupert [10:01]: Oh, yeah?

Mark Lapidus [10:01]: Yeah, they can just look in the archives and find another episode about the very place that you're talking about. But please continue.

Sherry Rupert [10:07]: The Choctaw Nation in Durant, Oklahoma; we were there a few years ago for our American Indigenous Tourism Conference, and were able to tour through their museum there. And it's again, very well done, very thorough, amazing exhibits, a lot of hands-on things to do in there. You know, these tribes are spending a lot of money to be able to tell their stories.

Mark Lapidus [10:31]: For my listeners who want to support Indigenous tourism, Sherry, what actions would you recommend they take? Give us a few simple steps.

Sherry Rupert [10:38]: Sure. So if you're planning a trip anywhere in the United States, I would encourage you to visit NativeAmerica.travel and plan your itinerary to our homelands. There's an itinerary building feature on there, and then we're working on enhancing our booking feature, so soon you'll be able to go and do your itinerary and actually purchase the tickets that are needed for these experiences. I would also encourage visitors to buy from Indigenous businesses and artists. I know sometimes it's difficult, but more and more, we're seeing programs where they're vetting the artists so that way the consumer knows that they're Indigenous artists, authentic Indigenous artists. And then, of course, we have businesses. We're seeing more and more restaurants being Indigenous-owned, and they're utilizing traditional foods in a contemporary way. And I've been to several of them now, and they're amazing. Wahpepah's Kitchen in Oakland, California; I just went to Tocabe in Denver, Colorado; and then chef Sean Sherman has his restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They're popping up all over, and it's just amazing, amazing food. And then, if you're a tour operator or you're looking to go on a tour, make sure that the tour company that you're going on is Indigenous-owned, and/or has Indigenous guides that are telling the stories of that place.

Mark Lapidus [12:05]: Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest growth opportunities for indigenous tourism?

Sherry Rupert [12:09]: Well, I think all areas are opportunities for growth in the Indigenous tourism sector. We're definitely growing in all aspects; I just mentioned, you know, cultural centers and tour operators, and you see more and more accommodations that are popping up, like staying in a hogan, staying in a teepee, those types of experiences. Another area is astrotourism. The dark skies, I think, is a huge opportunity for our Native nations and communities, because we're located in very rural areas where there's not a lot of light pollution, and you can see the stars. Our tribes still have stories about the stars that are being shared. Some are being shared in national parks, and some are currently being shared in our tribal communities. But we're seeing more and more of that as well.

Mark Lapidus [13:00]: Yeah, once you have that experience, you want to have it again and again and again. I don't think I even had that experience til I was 19 or 20 years old. And I've tried to replicate it a number of times, it's very difficult to do on the east coast of America.

Sherry Rupert [13:13]: Yeah, you're right. We're all over as Native nations, 574 tribes across the nation. But definitely, you know, in the west, many of our tribes have large land bases, and they have those stars.

Mark Lapidus [13:26]: Talk to me about how everybody should be celebrating Native American Heritage Month, other than wishing each other a happy month. I'm sure there's specific things that people can do.

Sherry Rupert [13:36]: Yeah, I would encourage in your area, your region, seek out events during Native American Heritage Month where you can go and learn about the local tribes there. Oftentimes you'll see something happening at the local museum in the local tribal communities where they're inviting the public in to learn more. So I think that's really a great opportunity, if it's, you know, your first time, to do that. And definitely look to social media as well. You can go to AIANTA's social media channels; we're going to be highlighting things throughout the month, where you can go and where you can participate.

Mark Lapidus [14:12]: Any upcoming conferences or conventions you'd like people to know about?

Sherry Rupert [14:16]: Well, we will be at NTA's Travel Exchange, providing some educational information there, November 17th through the 20th in Huntsville, Alabama. And then I'd like to invite everyone out to our American Indigenous Tourism Conference, which will take place next year in October. Usually it's the third, fourth week in October, so be looking for that.

Mark Lapidus [14:37]: Sherry, it's always a pleasure speaking with you, and we don't do it often enough, so we'll have to have you back on when you have another update. When people want to get into touch with you, what is the best way to do that?

Sherry Rupert [14:46]: The best way to get in touch with us here at AIANTA is our website. We have an information email there that is directed to the most appropriate team member to answer your question. And then also, LinkedIn is a great opportunity as well.

Mark Lapidus [15:01]: Well, thanks again, and I'm sure I'll see you at a conference soon.

Sherry Rupert [15:04]: Thank you.

Mark Lapidus [15:05]: And that's it for Brand USA Talks Travel. I'm Mark Lapidus, thanks for listening.

Outro: Your feedback is welcome. Email us at [email protected] or call 202-793-6256. Brand USA Talks Travel is produced by Asher Meerovich, who also composes music and sound. Media producer, Nthanze Kariuki, with assistance from Casey D'Ambra. Engineering, Brian Watkins, Kat Pommer, and Antonio Tyler. Art by Mimi Jung. Please share this podcast with your friends in the travel industry. You may also enjoy many of our archived episodes, which you can find on your favorite podcast platform. Safe travels!

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