News and Events

AIANTA - Introducing America's First Nations to the World - 



As the president of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association tasked with introducing America’s first nations to the world, I was sorry to hear about the retirement of the former Superintendent of Mount Rushmore, Gerard Baker.  Baker’s contributions to the evolution of the National Park Services  and Mount Rushmore are exciting and have had an immeasurable impact on the face of the Native American story in South Dakota.  As the first Native American superintendent of Mount Rushmore, Baker ushered in a new era of expanded storytelling and increased its attendance.  The faces etched into the mountainside honor four of America’s most popular heroes, but many realized that the story was incomplete without a broader understanding of the history of the land and the people that called it home long before the sculptors arrived.  
The National Parks Service is charged with preserving and promoting America’s most precious natural and man-made treasures, touchstones of our national history, and under Baker’s stewardship we have been given a more comprehensive and interesting perspective from which to look back.  But the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore are not just historic grounds but important tourism attractions and major economic draws for the gateway communities and taxpayers of South Dakota. Tourism as an economic driver is more important than ever and needs to be vibrant, appealing and educational.  I want to thank Baker and the NPS for making sure that these stories continue to be vital and interesting for visitors from around the globe.  
We wish Baker well and expect him to continue to play a dynamic role in tourism and the telling of the Native American story.  

Tina M. Osceola, AIANTA President


Good Afternoon, Please see the following message by Kimberly Teehee, Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs to the President, on the White House Tribal Nations Conference Progress Report. Forging a New and Better Future Posted by Kimberly Teehee on June 21, 2010 at 07:48 PM EDT In his remarks at the White House Tribal Nations Conference last year, President Obama said, “I am absolutely committed to moving forward with you and forging a new and better future together.  It’s a commitment that’s deeper than our unique nation-to-nation relationship. It’s a commitment to getting this relationship right, so that you can be full partners in America’s economy, and so your children and grandchildren (full story)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/06/21/forging-a-new-and-better-future


PRESS RELEASE
June 9, 2010

United Houma Nation Chief to Testify on BP Oil Spill
Impact on Native American Tribe

“Death threat to our culture as we know it.”

Chief Brenda Dardar Robichaux of the United Houma Nation will tell a Congressional hearing Thursday that the BP oil spill threatens the survival of her 17,000-member Native American tribe which has lived for centuries in the marshlands of southern Louisiana.

“For the Houmas, this oil spill looms as a death threat to our culture as we know it,” said Chief Dardar Robichaux, who will address the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 10, 2010 in Room 1324, Longworth House Office Building.

“The relationship between the Houma People and our lands is fundamental to our existence as an Indian nation,” she said. “The medicines we use to prevent illnesses and heal our sick, the places our ancestors are laid to rest, the fish, shrimp, crabs and oysters our people harvest, our traditional stories and the language we speak all are tied inextricably to these lands.  Without these lands, our culture and way of life that has been passed down generation to generation will disappear.”

Chief Dardar Robichaux also will ask the committee to bar BP and other agencies from using landfill sites in tribal areas and across Louisiana for disposal of wastes from clean-up operations as allowed under a federal law that defines any wastes generated during the production of petroleum as non-hazardous, no matter how poisonous they are.   “Because of this absurd definition, these materials can be ‘land-farmed’ in any American community as ‘non-hazardous oilfield waste,” she said.  

For more information contact Chief Brenda Dardar Robichaux at bdr@unitedhoumanation.org  or 985-537-8867.



Message from the President, Tina M. Osceola

"The massive, and growing, underwater BP oil spill is expected to disastrously effect the economies of several Gulf Coast states over the next few months.  It's economic impact on tourism and aquatic enterprises can not yet be measured.  It's effect on the fishing industry can only be described as crippling.  AIANTA is particularly concerned, however, with the repercussions the spill will have on Native American tribes along the Gulf Coast who are dependent upon fishing and traditional wetlands for their food and their culture.  Some, particularly in Louisiana, have historically lost tribal lands to the oil industry and some are not federally recognized, thereby limiting their legal claims for damages.  AIANTA publicly joins those effected tribes -- regardless of their sovereign standing -- in demanding the immediate clean-up of the oil spill and recognition of their legal and moral rights."