California is launching a new platform to highlight indigenous travel experiences.

This week, Visitor California (the state’s tourism marketing arm) revealed plans to launch a new online platform designed to promote indigenous tourism destinations, experiences and enterprises in California.

Visit Native California in March 2023 on VisitCalifornia.com with blog posts, suggested itineraries and podcasts to help travelers visit and learn more about California’s 109 federally recognized tribes and tribal communities.

The announcement was made at the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza in downtown Palm Springs, which is slated to open in early 2023, one of California’s most tribal-based tourism centers.

Native California Tourism

State officials and tribal leaders from across the region gathered for a press conference last week to discuss the new platform and focus on a few destinations it will promote.

“Our Native cultures discovered, preserved and preserved the landscapes that come to California for today’s visitors,” said Visit California President and CEO Caroline Betta. “Our shared culture and way of life draws visitors to California…and the tribal people in the state shape that culture and way of life.

She continued, “California is woven into the fabric, and visiting Native California creates, preserves, and elevates Native California stories.

With $1 million in funding from the federal American Savings Plan Act, Visit Native California will be the first state forum to advance Native American tourism experiences “in a way that goes beyond the mind,” calling the upcoming Beta Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza “California’s All-Tribal Cultural Tourism Center.”

“This project, this site, gives my people an opportunity to share our culture, to celebrate our culture and to educate the public about who we are as a people,” said Reid Malanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of the Kaula Indians. About the new cultural center. “This is who we are. This is our story.”

“When we share our culture, it helps preserve our culture,” he continued.

“This is a historic step for California tourism,” said Sherry Rupert, CEO of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association. “California is uniquely positioned to have a significant impact on the growth of tourism and visitation to tribal cultural experiences,” she said, adding that nearly 118,000 of all Native-owned businesses in the United States generate $14 million, and nearly a quarter of businesses are foreign. She says, noting that they are receptive. Billions of revenue per year.

Native experiences throughout California

After the press conference, tourism officials, tribal representatives and media headed to the nearby Indian Canyon Golf Resort. There, after going live, travelers sampled some of the experiences and tribes they can learn about on the California Native Visiting Forum.

Among them, travelers can head to the state’s northern border with Oregon and visit Yurok Country in the Redwood National Forest. There, you can learn about Yurok stewardship of Yurok’s primeval forests and the pristine beaches of this part of California, take guided canoe tours through one-piece redwood canyons, or enjoy heart-pounding boat trips on the Klamath River.

Farther south in Tuolumne County, near the edge of Yosemite National Park, travelers can meet members of the Mewc tribe and learn their language during educational sessions and take periodic tours to learn about their ancient lifestyle and how they lived. Land.

About an hour’s drive northwest of Sacramento in the Capi Valley, guests at Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation’s Cache Creek Casino Resort spend the afternoon tasting Gormella olive oils and wines produced in the Seca Hills.

The meet and greet was followed by lunch prepared by Chef Crystal Wahpepah of Oakland’s Wahpepah Kitchen. She is a member of the Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma, but grew up in Oakland, and pays homage to the land of Olon, where she lives and where her restaurant is located. The dishes included specialties like pumpkin squash soup with edible flowers and chili oil and buffalo meatballs with dried blueberries, as well as tart but sweet chia-berry pudding with acacia-powder chocolate chip.

During the meal, Mewok singers shared full-throated songs and young tribal members from Auckland performed traditional dances.

The day offered a glimpse of the partners that will appear on the California native tour. But even this was enough to reflect the diversity of experiences that travelers will encounter on the site and is an encouraging step in the promotion of tourism businesses owned and managed by indigenous people in California, although other states and other countries of the world are beginning to see their own indigenous tourism organizations to attract travelers.

Given California’s large indigenous population and the range of activities, environments, and landscapes travelers can explore, the state can truly be a driving force for indigenous-inspired travel in the United States and beyond. Hopefully that will be the case once California launches Native Visitor.

The Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza is reason enough to be optimistic about the future of indigenous tourism in the state.

Bringing native culture to downtown Palm Springs

Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza will be a multipurpose complex where visitors can learn about the traditional residents of Palm Springs, as well as more than 500 of their modern descendants. It will be the second largest Native American cultural center in the country.

The center It has been in operation since 2015 with a new phase in May 2018 and will open in early 2023 at the corner of East Tahtz Canyon Way and North Indian Canyon Drive. The 5.8-acre property is in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, within walking distance of the city’s top hotels, including the pet-friendly Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs and Hyatt Palm Springs.

Designed by JCJ Architecture and The Penta Building Group in collaboration with the Cahuilla Nation, the center will house a few unique rooms. The new iteration of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum houses art and artifacts dating back thousands of years. The Oasis Trail, a body of water lined with California fan palms, gives visitors a glimpse of the area’s unique ecosystem.

There is also an extensive wellness facility called Seok-He Spa, referring to the mineral springs from which Palm Springs gets its name. In addition to 22 treatment rooms, visitors will find men’s and women’s bathrooms and a serenity garden for relaxing before or after a treatment, as well as outdoor mineral pools for relaxing dips, a salon and a fitness center.

Come to the museum, stay for the spa… or vice versa.

The Forum on Visiting Native California promises to be an exciting first step in highlighting the many peoples who lived in California before the arrival of Europeans and supporting the tourism movement created by their descendants. .