Dawnielle Tehama wants you to know her story.

Like many Indigenous people throughout North America, Dawnielle is proud of where she comes from. And as an educator and advocate in the travel industry, as well as an enrolled Modoc citizen of the Klamath Tribes, she believes that sharing Native stories through tourism can be transformational for communities and visitors alike.

Dawnielle joins this episode of the podcast to discuss how groups can discover the diversity and riches of America’s Native communities — and do so in meaningful, respectful ways. She shares stories about how food can be a gateway to cultural encounters and speaks honestly about confronting difficult topics in travel. Plus, we have news about a cruise line’s dress code change and a heartfelt message for everyone in tourism who has been impacted by recent conflict and violence.

Podcast: Embed

Insights from Dawnielle Tehama

Dawnielle had a lot of great perspective on how travel planners can find meaningful experiences with Native communities. Here’s what she had to say about the importance of authenticity:

“We’re tasked with trying to help the traveler identify how to have a culturally authentic, non-performative experience. We don’t want to just say, ‘Hey, put on this costume and do this thing for a group’ when it’s actually regalia and it’s something that’s very near and dear to us. And often there’s a story, there’s ceremony, there’s a purpose for everything that we’re doing.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Learn more about the American Indigenous Tourism Association at americanindigenoustourism.org and discover the association’s map and other resources at destinationnativeamerica.com.

Follow Dawnielle Tehama on LinkedIn.

Browse our collection of over 250 group tour itineraries at grouptravelleader.com/itinerary-listings.

Key Moments From This Episode

1:39 — Travel News: Norwegian changes its dining dress code

2:55 — Road Tip: A one-touch tool for creating travel videos

6:59 — News From Us: The world’s best itinerary collection

12:03 — The wide world of Indigenous travel experiences

15:34 — Finding authentic encounters with Native communities

19:00 — The best sources for info on visiting Native groups

20:40 — Encountering Indigenous cultures through food

26:20 — Dealing with dark moments in Native history

33:00 — How tourism can uplift Indigenous communities

35:40 — Contributing economically to Native artists and entrepreneurs

51:48 — A heartfelt message to tourism’s hurting community

Watch the Full Interview

See the full interview with Dawnielle on our YouTube channel.

Thanks to our sponsor Louisville Tourism for making this episode possible. Learn more about group travel to the Bourbon City at gotolouisville.com/travel-professionals.

About the Podcast

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

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