Travel Oregon partnered with the state’s nine federally recognized tribes to create the “Travel Guide to Oregon Indian Country.” The guide emphasizes tribal museums, events and activities open to the public in Oregon. Lucinda DiNovo is the director of sales at The Mill Casino Hotel & RV Park and vice chair of the Oregon Tourism Commission. Travis Hill is the COO for the Umpqua Indian Development Corporation. Lisa Itel is the director of Global Strategic Partnerships with Travel Oregon. They join us with details about the guide.
Note: The following transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.
Dave Miller: There is a new travel guide in Oregon. It was created by Travel Oregon in partnership with the state, nine federally recognized Indian tribes. It’s called the “Travel Guide to Oregon Indian Country.” It emphasizes respectful ways for visitors to learn about indigenous history, food events, art, culture and contemporary life. We’re going to get three perspectives on this guide right now. Lucinda DiNovo is the director of sales at the Coquille Tribe’s The Mill Casino Hotel and RV Park. She is also the vice chair of the Oregon Tourism Commission. Travis Hill is a COO for the Umpqua Indian Development Corporation. And Lisa Itel is the director of Global Strategic Partnerships at Travel Oregon. They join us with details about the guide. Welcome to all three of you.
Travis Hill: Good morning,
Lucinda DiNovo: Good morning.
Lisa Itel: Thank you.
Miller: Travis Hill first. Why was this new guide necessary?
Travis Hill: I guess to put it in perspective, there was a guide about 10 years ago, similar to this guide. And we were approached by Travel Oregon about 15 to 18 months ago stating that they want to kind of revisit this guide and explore and really promote tribal tourism within the state of Oregon. From there, we formed a subcommittee whose part of the group is on the call right now. And basically we really kind of dove into this with both feet and wanted to really emphasize tribal tourism in the state of Oregon.
Miller: Lisa Itel, there was a guide already so why was there a desire to create a new one?
Lisa Itel: Yes, there was a guide already in 2005 and as an agency, we really felt like there was a voice missing from the work that we were doing at Travel Oregon. Our goal was to have this guide to share with visitors and Oregonians alike that tribes are here and thriving in Oregon and actively playing a role in the economic development and sustainability of Oregon. And our hope is to not just have this guide but that we can move forward with lots of other projects and partnerships with the nine tribes to really educate again our visitors and Oregonians about all the great work and how involved the tribes are in their own communities.
Miller: Lucinda DiNovo, what were your priorities in terms of making sure that whatever needed to be in this guide was going to be from the perspective of the Coquille Tribe?
Lucinda DiNovo: I think touching back on what Lisa said, Travel Oregon has always done an excellent job of reminding visitors and residents what makes Oregon uniquely Oregon. And I’m especially proud of the work that they’ve done in this space because they recognize that you can’t tell the story without sharing the stories of the nine federally-recognized tribes. And honestly, it was a committee and we kind of went through what things we wanted to talk about. So we gave each of the tribes a kind of a template talking about tribal history, tribal celebrations, tribal tourism assets. And, I’m just so pleased that all nine federally-recognized tribes participated and it’s a beautiful publication.
Miller: Travis Hill, how much tourism do you see outside of the casino?
Hill: I think the casino environment was a catalyst for a lot of tourism. The casino was really the main economic engine for a lot of these tribes in the different regions throughout the last 25-30 years. As the tourism environment has matured for the casinos by adding hotels, adding additional properties, adding amenities to these, not only is it really just the casino, there are additional amenities like spas and RV parks and resorts to these different areas. Food and beverages are very important to a lot of these tribes, and tourism itself. And so really just looking at all aspects of tourism and how that’s involved within that plays a large role within the operation to these different regions.
Miller: Travis, if people come first and foremost because they want to play the slots or blackjack or craps or maybe see a show, how do you get them interested in learning about tribal culture, tribal history or contemporary tribal life or language?
Hill: I think there’s probably three different dynamics of that. I mean, so you have your local market where they are familiar with the local tribes and communities. A lot of tribes do play a large role in their communities, but then you have the kind of passerby tourism which may be the seasonality tourism. And so they’re interested and it kind of piques their interest that they want to find out a little bit about where the tribe originated, what they’re about, maybe some of the culture of the tribe. Then especially in Oregon we have especially our international travelers and they really actually take it to almost a different level. They want to kind of experience some more of that culture as well as of the indigenous people of the native tribes of Oregon.
Miller: Lucinda DiNovo, what about from your perspective? I’m curious if you actively think about turning gaming tourists into cultural tourists.
Hill: Well, the Coquilles have been very intentional with that. When you walk into the hotel lobby, we have exhibits about the history of the tribe. We talk about the community giving back to the community. We have a video that plays in the room that talks about tribal history, even in each meeting room. We have the Salmon Room and we have other meeting rooms that were named after natural fibers used to create tools and basketry and we have interpretive panels talking about that. So when you’re walking into the facility, you’re learning about the cultural traditions of the tribe.
Hill: Dave, can I add to one thing?
Miller: Please do.
Hill: A lot of tribes were just re-recognized in the last 30 to 40 years and so during that kind of termination period for the tribes, they lost some culture. So during the last 20 or 30 years, they’re bringing back their culture, they’re bringing back their languages, they’re bringing back their families. So some of this is still a work in progress as far as identifying that culture and really having a foundation for that to really be proud about and share with the public and our guests.
DiNovo: Yeah, I think, sorry, can I jump?
Miller: I love the jumps.
DiNovo: I think Travis brings up a good point and I think that’s what one of the questions I get all the time is. How can I learn more about the tribe? And that’s why I’m so happy that we have this guide because it’s such a resource for the visitor and resident alike. They can learn about the museums or cultural exhibits or cultural events. I think that’s what’s most rewarding to me is there is a guy that can really direct people to learn more about the tribes.
Miller: Travis Hill, one of the issues that has come up so many times over the last 15 years in this show when we talked about indigenous people in Oregon is the fear that especially among non-native people, there is a sense that that indigenous lives, that it’s history, that it’s the past as opposed to both the past and the present and the future. How do you reckon with that? How do you deal with that when you’re thinking about tourism and travel, how do you both celebrate the past? But also make sure that visitors–I’m thinking particularly about non tribal visitors–that they’re truly aware of the present?
Hill: So culture is a way of life and so this is passed down through generations and a lot of it I hear from my grandmother, my grandmother’s grandmother. And so there’s this process of passing down that culture and those things that we do in daily life. Now as far as how we incorporate that into operation and what it would be, an example would be a blessing. If we opened a new restaurant, we’re going to bless that restaurant and have a ceremony for it. When we had our 40th anniversary for our tribal recognition here back in April, part of that was native drumming and we honored our flag. So we opened those experiences to the general public as well as while we’re performing these types of functions so they can see our traditions and how we carry them forth on those. There’s a lot of respect to go along with that. It’s one of those things that is kind of interesting. Tribal sovereignty is nothing to be taken lightly. A prime example is–and this kind of gets it down a rabbit hole–but we’ve implemented a curriculum in our local school systems here in Douglas County to teach tribal history for the Cow Creek Tribes and sovereignty and why tribes have certain rights to do certain things. During COVID-19, we closed our operation for a period of time and we had a 19-year old young adult ask why. They said you guys are a nation within a nation and you can make that decision. Well, we chose to make a decision at that time for the greater good, not necessarily for the operation, to close our facility at that time. It was interesting to see that they actually had a perspective and they realized the tribal sovereignty and the rights that allow us as the Native Americans.
Miller: Lucinda DiNovo, there is a section of this guide called, “How to visit respectfully.” What does that look like to you?
DiNovo: Well, I think indigenous peoples have always been stewards of the land and what I most appreciate about this guide is that the nine tribes got to decide what they wanted to display in it. Travel Oregon has some excellent campaigns, the Take Care Out There Campaign. There’s a lot of conversations about sustainable tourism so I’m really pleased with the fact that that section is in the guide because it really talks about the thoughtfulness of how we should make sure that we’re taking care of these lands and resources.
Itel: Dave, can I jump in here?
Miller: I should say Lisa Itel from Travel Oregon.
Itel: I think why the guide to is so special to all of us is that I think so many people are unaware how the tribes have invested in so many ways to welcome visitors and I think there’s a lot of content that is weaved through that guide that really shares and helps visitors understand and how they can respect those attractions that are on a near tribal land. I think for me and I can’t speak on behalf of Lucinda or Travis, but I know that that’s again why it was so important for us to be a collective partnership on this guide.
Miller: One of the sections is about events over the course of a calendar year that people can go to. I’m curious about Travis and Lucinda to hear about one event that you would most recommend for travelers. Travis first, When is the best time for visitors? Maybe first time visitors will come?
Hill: We actually just concluded one of our flagship events. We have our Seven Feathers Rodeo. It actually goes down in generations that some of our tribal members in the past have participated in the rodeo and so this is something we have been doing for 19 years. We just had it. We always have it the third weekend in September. We had a great attendance of over 6000 people at the event over the two-day period. We gave us some great prizes and we gave away a saddle and belt buckles. It’s a $5 cover charge. We don’t make money on the event, but it’s one of those things to carry on that tradition and bring our community together and it’s a really well-supported event.
Miller: Lucinda, what about you?
DiNovo: I’m awfully proud of the Mil-Luck Salmon Celebration. We just celebrated this event in September, it’s always the second full weekend in September. It’s really an event that celebrates the return of the salmon and we invite many of the Pacific Northwest tribes to attend. There’s an opportunity to have experienced the traditional salmon bake. There is dancing, there’s drumming and for the guests it’s an opportunity just to learn about native cultures. Guests can learn how to leave the cedar bracelet or make a dentalium necklace. This event has been going on for 17 years and it’s honestly one of my favorite events because it’s really an opportunity to educate guests and residents alike about the culture, not only of the Coquille Indian Tribe, but of the native tribes of Oregon.
Miller: Lucinda DiNovo, Travis Hill and Lisa Itel, thanks very much.
Hill/Itel/DiNovo: Thank you.
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