For ten thousand years, the Mi'kmaq First Nation has called Nova Scotia home and enriched this province with their legends, art, music, history, and language. Visitors to Nova Scotia have many opportunities to learn about Mi’kmaq culture, but few experiences are as immersive as the unique, hands-on travel tour offered by Eskasoni Cultural Journeys.
The tour brings visitors along a 2.3km trail that winds through Goat Island on Bras d’Or Lake, Cape Breton. They’re guided by a heritage interpreter from the community who is dressed in full, hand-made regalia. Along the way, they make a series of stops at mock traditional villages to learn about Mi’kmaq culture.
The tour was developed six years ago by Tracy Menge, the Economic Development Manager for Eskasoni First Nation, and Maureen Caroll, a Tourism Development Consultant. Since then, its popularity has rapidly increased.
“After our very first tour, I said: this is going to be something,” remembers Sandra MacDonald, Eskasoni Cultural Journeys’ Tourism Coordinator.
MacDonald says Eskasoni Cultural Journeys has been having an incredible 2017 season. “We welcomed over 700 people a week in October, and 62 cruise ship tours this season,” she explains.
Eskasoni Cultural Journeys hired three additional staff this year to keep up with increasing interest. The organization employs many members of the Eskasoni community—from youth to elders.
“Working with the community’s elders is what really set this whole thing off,” said MacDonald. “They have the knowledge and ideas. And the elders have helped youth in the community see that tourism can provide sustainable employment from April to November.”
MacDonald explains that many people are interested in Indigenous culture and history, but that for a long time, it was difficult for visitors to find authentic, hands-on experiences unless they had a personal connection with an Indigenous community. However, this is changing.
“Eskasoni First nation is granting Nova Scotians, Canadians, and international visitors the opportunity to meet their community and learn about their culture. They’re making it easier to visit their land than ever before,” MacDonald shares. “Besides preserving their traditional way of life, they’re breaking down cultural barriers and welcoming people in.”
It has also encouraged active living among community members, as many Eskasoni First Nation people use the trail on Goat Island, which is accessible from the mainland by a causeway, for their own purposes, and has even encouraged local businesses to sprout up, like the new Goat Island Café.
"Eskasoni Cultural Journeys has been an outstanding project for the community,” says Eskasoni First Nation Chief Leroy Denny. “It has created employment, economic development and has brought a sense of pride to our community. We are proud to be part of indigenous tourism and look forward to continued growth and capacity".
Tracy Menge, the driving force behind Eskasoni Cultural Journeys Goat Island project, is intent on sharing the community’s experience and helping others bring hands-on Indigenous tourism experiences to visitors across Canada.
Menge, MacDonald, and business and economic development officers from across Nova Scotia are in Newfoundland this week attending training at the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism. They’re there to learn from peers and identify more Indigenous tourism development opportunities for Nova Scotia.
For more information about Eskasoni Cultural Journeys, check out their website or contact Sandra MacDonald.
For more about Indigenous tourism in Canada, visit the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada’s website and Destination Canada’s Indigenous Tourism webpage.