Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1993. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-89). Also available on the World Wide Web.

The tourism industry is particularly reliant on the use of imagery to create a brand for a destination or attraction in order to effectively market its product. In the case of Indigenous tourism, a paradox often exists between maintaining a level of recognition and familiarity that mirror the expectations of the public imagination, and conveying a representation that is locally meaningful and emblematic. Investigation into the visual representation and communication of identity through tourism is a means to illustrate three overlapping issues that are prevalent throughout the literature on Indigenous tourism. These are: control, authenticity, and hybridity. This research project addresses these issues through an extensive review of anthropological and tourism-related literature and its application to the specific case study of one Indigenous tourism business, the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre (NDCC), owned and operated by the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) in Osoyoos, British Columbia (BC), Canada. Semiotic and visual analyses are used to elucidate the messages about OIB identity communicated through the Centre’s visuals, in order to bring the example of the OIB and NDCC into conversation with the larger issues found within Indigenous tourism. / Graduate

This study explores the importance of culture in Northern in contemporary Aboriginal development. This study interviewed a sample of Lac La Ronge Indian Band members living in the community of Lac La Ronge about their perceptions of two central culture values: northern pimâcihowin (making a living) and mitho-pimâtisiwin (the good life) and its relevance to the LLRIB Band developments. This is significant because northern First Nations have unique local histories and perspectives, and they continue to earn a living and self-sufficiency through traditional ways of living on the land (commercial fishing and trapping, hunting) and adapting new ways to their way of life, such as pursuing training, employment, and business opportunities. Using a methodology called snowball sampling from community contact referrals, nine participants agreed to participate in this study. The questionnaire for this study focused on the interviewees’ perceptions of Cree culture and northern ways of life, pimâtisiwin (life), and whether they thought principles of pimâcihowin (making a living) influenced or should continue to influence LLRIB members and leaders to achieve mitho-pimâtisiwin (the good life). The literature and findings suggest that Cree culture, pimâtisiwin (life) and its connection to the land, and the concept of pimâcihowin (making a living) are still relevant today. Overall, this study suggests that concern for northern Cree pimâtisiwin (life), the land and pimâcihowin (livelihood or making a living), strongly influenced and will likely continue to be important for LLIRB efforts to develop its people and communities thus contributing to their innovative social and developments that blend local values and principles.

This thesis explores processes of self-representation in Indigenous media by analyzing the work of a weekly newspaper, The Eastern Door, of the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, Quebec (Canada). The thesis examines articulations of power in relations between State and Aboriginal communities, demonstrating the importance of such a medium for the conceptualization of Aboriginal Nation and construction of identity in the contemporary context. The Eastern Door is an important vehicle for communicating Mohawk identity and nationhood, a role it consciously plays, as part of its commitment to political autonomy. Its commitment is shown by its discursive explorations: of avenues, themes chosen, concerns expressed and language used. An element of this commitment is an emphasis on collective and individual behaviour, and on "being" as an expression of Mohawk identity, both of which provide powerful bases of action for the community and in relations with the State. If this thesis underlines that State interest and power are an influence on these processes, it also demonstrates that the Mohawk engagement with cultural politics is influential itself, allowing the Mohawks to develop political strategies vis-a-vis the State, and even to impose political agendas that have to be engaged with by the government.

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This thesis contributes to the knowledge of museology, anthropology and Native American studies. It is an analysis of the discourse that surrounded The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada's First Peoples, an exhibition prepared by the Glenbow in Calgary as the 'flagship' of the Olympic Arts Festival in 1988. After the Lubicon Indians of Northern Alberta called for a boycott of The Spirit Sings, in attempt to draw critical attention to their long outstanding lands claim, a large and heated debate ensued involving several disciplines, particularly anthropology and museology. Much of this debate took place in the print media, therefore a large body of material remains to be reviewed and studied. The intent of this thesis is to illustrate that the issue of museological representation of First Nations was one of the most central themes discussed in the discourse, but to argue that the major players dealt with this issue on only the most concrete level and therefore largely neglected to recognize that the issue of First Nation's representation was not just a concern over museum interpretation but more importantly an issue of the contested authenticity of national and cultural claims. / vi, 335 p. ; 29 cm.

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