Here’s why telling authentic Indigenous stories matters

Today is the international celebration of the world’s Indigenous peoples! And this year’s theme is centred on Indigenous women. Women in Indigenous communities have a unique power to preserve and transmit traditional knowledge and stories through the generations. But they are widely under-represented. 

As the official site says, “Indigenous women are the backbone of Indigenous peoples’ communities and play a crucial role in the preservation and transmission of traditional ancestral knowledge. The reality, however, remains that Indigenous women are widely under-represented, and are too frequently the victims of multiple expressions of discrimination.”

Well, we think tourism has a duty to try and address this imbalance. That’s why, when we visit Jasper, Canada, Contiki travellers get to meet Matricia Bauer, a ‘Warrior Woman‘ of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, to hear her powerful story.

We recently teamed up with Travel Alberta to speak to Matricia about the importance of knowledge transfer within her culture, and why telling authentic Indigenous stories to a wider audience matters now, more than ever. Here’s what we learned…