A STORMY LAKE & MOCCASIN TRAILS PARTNERSHIP

BANFF & LAKE LOUISE INDIGENOUS TOURISM STRATEGY

DESTINATION TOURISM STRATEGIC PLAN

PROJECT SUMMARY

A nuanced Indigenous tourism strategy developed through in-depth engagement with six Nations connected to Banff. Rooted in storytelling, it outlines actions that prioritize relationship-building, Nation-led cultural education, business support, and shared mentorship—framing tourism as a tool for healing, presence, and long-term partnership rather than just promotion.

APPROACH

• Background research

• In-depth interviews

• Community consultation & Elder engagement

• Dialogic research

• Storytelling

• Board engagement & consultation

Finding beauty in the complexity

The Indigenous tourism strategy for Banff and Lake Louise Tourism (BLLT) is one of our most complex—and meaningful—projects to date. The challenge wasn’t just technical or strategic. It was relational. It asked us to listen deeply, navigate political nuance, and help a settler-led DMO evolve into a better tourism partner and a more accountable organization.

We approached the work through a lens of relationship-first engagement. The team met with six Nations and communities through in-community visits, one-on-one interviews, and storytelling sessions. Every conversation reminded us: Indigenous tourism is not one story. It's many. And the complexity of Nations’ relationships with Banff is not a burden—it’s the gift. There is beauty in it.

The strategy that followed is rooted in the wisdom shared with us. It calls for BLLT to embed relationship-building across the organization—not in a single staff role. It recommends Nation-led cultural education, direct support for Indigenous operators, and mentorship programs that include both Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses. Storytelling emerges as a key tool: not just for marketing, but for healing, understanding, and shifting worldviews.

Importantly, the strategy doesn’t just speak to program ideas. It maps the deep work BLLT must do internally: transforming how it shows up in community, how it makes decisions, how it walks alongside its Indigenous partners in humility, transparency, and shared purpose.

This is not a checklist strategy. It is a relationship strategy. It’s about changing the story from one of exclusion to one of presence—and honouring that story every day.