Indigenous ecotourism in central British Columbia: the potential for building capacity in the Tl'azt'en Nations territories

This article explores the potential for building capacity to plan and develop ecotourism in a traditionally forest-dependent indigenous community in central British Columbia (BC), Canada. It is based on fieldwork conducted in 2001 and 2002, consisting mainly of two community workshops, and a survey of 128 Tl'azt'en Nation households. Results show that there is significant potential for ecotourism development in the Tl'azt'en territory. The Tl'azt'en have a strong desire to be involved in ecotourism; however, they are incognisant of the challenges and opportunities that come with its development. There is a general lack of commitment to a shared responsibility in the planning and management of ecotourism. Four potential obstacles to fully realize the development of ecotourism include the speculation that most commercial 'niches' are already filled; lack of clearly identified target visitor markets; competing interests from other northern BC communities that have similar resources; and stereotypical images of First Nations in Canada. The article suggests several strategies, including the capitalization of Tl'azt'enne knowledge of the resources, building networks with other aboriginal and non-aboriginal agencies and individuals, exploring opportunities for educating and training the youth in tourism and small enterprise development, and building partnerships with tour operators.