Giving Voice to Our First Nations: Creating a Framework for Indigenous Interpretation at Cultural Heritage Sites

The Indigenous voice may be muted or lost at complex and controversial cultural heritage sites, but barriers to interpreting these sites can be bridged through collaboration and co-creation. This process necessitates a long-term investment by both the sites and stakeholders. Lessons learned from this experience can serve as a framework for developing an interpretive strategy that embraces cultural diversity and inclusion. Researchers at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) and University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) worked with the National Park Service (NPS) and Oglala Lakota College (OLC) in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, to develop Indigenous interpretive curriculum that provided the tools for Indigenous students to tell their own stories and market their own heritage to visitors seeking an authentic experience. This project combined interpretation and tourism curriculum development within an existing framework at OLC. Stakeholders from the tribal college, national parks, other tourism destinations, and SFA and UMSL worked side by side to build pathways to engage student participation in interpretation and tourism.