UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Shaw, Alana
Title:
Dept./Program:
Natural Resources
Year:
2009
Degree:
MS
Abstract:
Ecotourism has been increasingly offered around the world as a tool for sustainable development that inherently promises to improve the welfare of its host communities. However, recent critiques have emerged that question just how well such initiatives have been able to translate this rhetoric into reality. This is of particular concern when dealing with indigenous communities who often enter into these arrangements as some of the most marginalized and powerless members of their society.
This body of work thus seeks to examine how ecotourism in the Carib Territory of Dominica has affected the Kalinago people whose culture has increasingly become a focal point for tourism in the area. My intent is not necessarily to decide whether or not the particular ecotourism initiatives in the Territory may be deemed a success story for the Kalinago. Instead, I am interested in examining how relationships of power and constructs of indigeniety both are shaped by and inform the ability of native communities to actively participate in the decision-making processes that ultimately affect them. I specifically focus on the ways that ecotourism has either altered or reinforced preexisting power relations both within the Kalinago community and as they collectively relate to national and international development interests.
In addition, I consider the issues of cultural commodification that sometimes present themselves within ecotourism enterprises by analyzing whether or not the specific representational practices employed in the tourism marketing of the Carib Territory rely on oversimplified notions of both indigeniety and authenticity. The final question is whether or not such imagery may prove problematic to the Kalinago's abilities to negotiate the terms of their own modernity.
In order to examine these issues I utilized a qualitative research approach during a month long period of intensive field research. I employed four primary methods that include: an extensive literature review, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and the textual analysis ofmaterials associated with tourism in the Carib Territory. The final results of this research are offered as a way of identifying some of the strengths and limitations of ecotourism as a development process. In the end, this knowledge is meant to help ensure that the promise to promote the ultimate well being of host communities such as the Kalinago people is not left empty.
This body of work thus seeks to examine how ecotourism in the Carib Territory of Dominica has affected the Kalinago people whose culture has increasingly become a focal point for tourism in the area. My intent is not necessarily to decide whether or not the particular ecotourism initiatives in the Territory may be deemed a success story for the Kalinago. Instead, I am interested in examining how relationships of power and constructs of indigeniety both are shaped by and inform the ability of native communities to actively participate in the decision-making processes that ultimately affect them. I specifically focus on the ways that ecotourism has either altered or reinforced preexisting power relations both within the Kalinago community and as they collectively relate to national and international development interests.
In addition, I consider the issues of cultural commodification that sometimes present themselves within ecotourism enterprises by analyzing whether or not the specific representational practices employed in the tourism marketing of the Carib Territory rely on oversimplified notions of both indigeniety and authenticity. The final question is whether or not such imagery may prove problematic to the Kalinago's abilities to negotiate the terms of their own modernity.
In order to examine these issues I utilized a qualitative research approach during a month long period of intensive field research. I employed four primary methods that include: an extensive literature review, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and the textual analysis ofmaterials associated with tourism in the Carib Territory. The final results of this research are offered as a way of identifying some of the strengths and limitations of ecotourism as a development process. In the end, this knowledge is meant to help ensure that the promise to promote the ultimate well being of host communities such as the Kalinago people is not left empty.