There is a growing interest among Canadian and international tourists to connect with Indigenous culture and people. They seek authentic hands-on experiences to interact with culture, traditions, arts, foods, storytelling and history.
Métis Crossing is the only major Métis cultural centre in Alberta and one of the largest in Canada. Near Smoky Lake, Alberta, Métis Crossing offers:
a museum
a historical village
a photo gallery
an indoor meeting area
restored homesteads and gardens
Métis Nation Alberta created experiences where visitors can touch, feel and participate in traditional activities that appeal to a range of visitors, year round.
One of those experience is connecting visitors to the land by harvesting ingredients for their meals.
“As we plan to grow however, we want to see upwards of 80,000 visitors a year coming to Métis Crossing. We cannot sustainably take our visitors out onto the land base to harvest at that kind of scale,” said Juanita Marois, CEO, Métis Crossing. “So what the PrairiesCan funding has allowed us to do is to plant our haskaps and our Saskatoon bushes so we can still have the same idea of the program but in a more sustainable manner.”
Métis Nation Alberta received $500,000 from PrairiesCan’s Canadian Experiences Fund (CEF). The funding helps develop the “farm and forest to table” culinary experiences, the basis of a robust culinary program at Métis Crossing.
The CEF supported 18 Indigenous organizations in Alberta with over $4.7 million in funding to create or enhance tourism products, facilities and experiences. The fund invested in increasing Indigenous tourism and growing tourism in rural and remote communities.
Complete transcript available at: www.canada.ca/...
3 окт 2024
