HONS),University of Ghana, Legon, 1997

WELCOME STRANGER: TOüRiSbl DEVELOPhdENT AMONG THE SI fUSWAP PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH-CENTRAL INTERTOR OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, CAVADA Owusu A. Amoakohene B.A. (HONS),University of Ghana, Legon, 1997. THESIS SUBMTTED lN PARTIAL FULFILLLMENTOF THE REQUIREiLLENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Department of Sociology and Anthropology OOwusu A. Amoakohene 1997 SIMON FRASER WRSITY Juiy 1997 Al1 rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whoIe or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1*1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services seMces bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, nie Wellington OttawaON K1A ON4 OttawaON K1A ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant A la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, Ioan, distri'bute or seU reproduire, prêter, distriiuer ou copies of this thesis in microfonn, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la fome de microfiche/fh, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fi-om it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT TouRsm development has become an important source of economic and socio- cuItural developrnent for many cornrnunities. However. rnainstream or conventional tourism as a developmental tool has been criticized for its negative effects on the culture and environment of many destination regions. This thesis examines and explains the adoption of srnall-scaie tourisrn development among the Shuswap Nation of the south- centrai interior of British Columbia, a destination region where tourism development is in its formative stage. Small-scaie tourism development, mainly controlled and rnanaged by the community members, has been adopted. This is because smdl-scaie tourisrn is seen as a way to overcome Sie many probIems associated with rnainstream or conventiond tourîsm and dso to build community identity and involvement. As an exploratory study, this thesis presents the origin, nature and mes of tourism events and the impact of tourism development on the Shuswap Nation. Usins an interview survey of 110 informants, which was supplemented by participant observation, the thesis reflects and analyzes data on the major events, aspirations, motivations and expectations of tourism fiom the point of view of the foIlowing: Local First Nation residents (residents not necessarily involved with tourism development); Chiefs, Councils and tour guides (residents involved with tourism development); and visiting tourists. The framework for analysis of this thesis is the "locally appmpriate" tourism development scheme used by D'Amore (1983) and Butler (1992). The thesis observes that dthough the scheme is usefui for small-scale tourism development, what is most important is how residents perceive tourisrn development. iii The theoreticai orientation taken in this thesis is drrived tiom Jalàri-s (1989) '-adaptacy platform" and informed by the ideas of MacCannell (1973) on "staged authenticity." Van den Berghe (1984) on "recrcated ethnicity," Cohen (1988) on "emergent authenûcity," and Greenwood (1977) on the "commodihzation of culture." [t is argued that, dthough the conceptualizations of Cohen and Van den Berghe are especiaily usefûl, these need to be located within the historicd, politicai and socio- culturai context of the community being examined. Finaliy, some recommendations are made conceming the future development of Shwap tourism, and dso for firme research in this area To Joma for her love and support The author is extremaly gratehl for the support and guidancc of my supervison. Professor R. Wyllie, senior supervisor and Dr. M. Ignace. My sincere thanks goes to the whole Ignace family who made it possible for me to do my research in the summer of 1996. Many thanks also go to my wonderfüi fiends who provided support in many ways-Marlyn, KeWi, Brookes, Tonio, Marlene just to mention a few. Finally, I want to thank my farnily for their encouragement and support. This would not have been possible without their heip. TABIX OF CONTENTS Dedication Ac knowledgement Table of Contents vii Lists of Tables Chapter One Scope of the Ttiesis Introduction The Research Process Examination of Relevant Literature Theoreticai Orientation and Interpretive Concepts Data CoUection Chapter Two Background fistory of the Shuswap Nation Introduction Traditional Shuswap Culture Contact with Europeans Effects of the Contact Cultural Reconstruction Chapter Three Anatomy of Shuswap Tourism Introduction Tourists ActivitiesiFacilities Development of Tourism facilities The Touists End Notes Chapter Four Tourism Impacts Introduction Physicai/Ecologicai Economic Political Socio-Cultural Chapter Five Locally-Appropriate Tourism? Introduction Conpence Between Shuswap Tourism and Locally-Appropriate Tourism Development Chapter Si.-.- Summary and Conclusions Introduction Research Questions Revisited Recommeadations Concluding Remarks Appendk I Questionnaire Appendix II Map of Shuswap Nation Appendix III Pictures of Tourism Activities and Facilities Appendiv IV Bibliopraphy viii 1. Tourists by Gender 2. Tourists by Age Distribution 3. Maritai Status of Tourists 4. Educational Status of Tourists 5. Tourists by Country of Residence 6. Tourists Visits to SCES Museum Iiom May 1995-May 1996 CH 1 Scope of the thcsis 1 CHAPTER ONE SCOPE OF THE THESIS INTRODUCTION Even nventy years ago. it would have been virrually inconceivable to speak of tourism development arnong the Aboriginal people of Canada However. the situation has changed substantidly in recent years. Aboriginal people have adopted tourism to meet dernands created by growth in world-wide travel, and also to gain Erom the economic and socio-culhiral beneh that accompany its development. Also, communities are opening up, and a growing number of people are curious to find out more about Aboriginal peoples and their way of life. Aboriginal tourism has, in the process. become an important catalyst for development, especially among groups wid~ limited economic options but attractive nattuai andor cultural resources. Despite the potential benefits of tourisrn for Abonginal comrnunities, concerns have been raised regarding the environmental and socio-cultural impacts that accompany the development of tourism. This has been the case with the Shuswap ~ation'.With few economic options open to thern, some Shuswap believe that tourism can provide economic opportunities as well as socio-cultural benefits. They therefore adopted tourism in the early 1980s as a means of reviving their culture and economy. The communities involved with tourisrn development have adopted a brand that is smail- scale, set within the context of their communities, and controlled by community t This refers to the Aboriginal peoples located in the south-cenal interior of British Coiumbia. The Shuswap Nation is made up of seventeen communities. These communities wilI sometirnes be referred to as bands or reserves. - -- - members. This approach is expected to have a better chance ol'being accepted, supportcd and appreciated by most community members; more important, this approach is viewed as reducing the negative impacts that have been observeci to accompany tourism development. Tounsm. in this thesis. is defined differently than it is by the Intemationai Union of Officiai Travel Organizations (IUOTO)'. Although many tourism studies have defined tourkm in tenns of pleasure travel, the IUOTO plays down the pieasure aspect. In its search for a comprehensive definition, the IUOTO uses the concept "visitor". The IUOTO defines a "visitor as any person visiting a country other than that in which he/she has his usual place of residence, for any reason other than following an occupation remunerated from within the country visited" (The Statistical Commission of the iüOTO, 1968). It cIassifies a "tourist" as a "visitor" suying in a destination area for more than twenty-four hous; a "visitor" who stays for Iess time is dassified as an "excursionist". The IUOTO's definition is Iimited, in that it is too broad, subsuming vimally al1 kinds of travel. The emphasis in this thesis is rnainiy on tourism for recreation, for example, traveling to attend one or more of the activities organized by the Shuswap people. However, there is a difficulty, since rnost of the tourists who go to the Shuswap area do not stay in the communities, and it is not rneaningful to use the twenty-four hou. time limit. in studying Shuswap tourism, therefore, a ?ouristY' is defmed as a "visitor" who attends one or more of the activities organized by the Shuswap people. whether he/she The [UOTO's definitian of tourism is rnainly to assist in rhe collection of international rourism statistics. CH 1 Scope of the thesis 3 nqsfor twenty-four hours or not. This thesis, which examines tourisrn in the Shuswap communities3 in the south- central region of British Columbia (BC), is essentially an exploratory smey of small- scale, cornmunity-managed tourisrn development. The information it presents may provide a usehl baseline frorn which to track and

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