b'INDIGENOUS TOURISMNanabush TrailsIt feels as though you have walked back in time when you walk the ancient Nanabush Trails. These prehistoric trails have been a part of Georgina Island First Nation for centuries, following the historic paths of Chippewa Elders used to survive and build the current community. Geor-gina Island First Nation is located on the southeastern tip of Lake Simcoe, about a two-hour drive from Toronto. Leave your vehicle, grab a good pair of shoes and a bottle of water, and leave your cares on the mainland as you enjoy the 15-minute ferry ride to the island. The Aazhaawe ferry boat is Ojibway for to go across.Each of the four trails offer opportunities to examine wetlands, exhibits and wildlife viewing areas. For example, the Sweetgrass Trail leads you to a wigwam village and teaches you why sweetgrass is sacred among the Chip-pewa people. The three other trails are Tobacco Trail, Cedar Trail and Sage Trail, all named after the main medicines of the Anishinaabe people.Nanabush Trails Georgina Island First Nation nanabushinfo@georginaisland.com nanabushtrails.comEshkawkogan founded the Great Spirit Circle Trail onTo properly operate and implement a comprehensive Manitoulin Island, which is one of the countrys most renownedstrategy that has been in the works for several years, ITO and popular Indigenous tourism hubs. The Great Spirit Circlewould need $1.5 million per year, according to Eshkawkogan, Trail board, staff and myself have the knowledge as tourismwho added that economists he worked with calculated that professionals, and we have the responsibility to share ourthey would need one per cent of their contribution to the GDP knowledge and wanted to help grow the overall Indigenousto properly exist and we are nowhere near that.tourism industry in Ontario. We said, lets incubate this ideaIndigenous Tourism Ontario collected data from 68 busi-and in time let it take a life of its own, and this is key on whynesses, 14 per cent of Ontarios registered Indigenous busi-ITO exists today, he says. nesses across all sectors throughout Ontario, which included However, it hasnt been easy; according to Eshkawkogan,32 individually-owned and 36 community-owned businesses. ITO is severely underfunded compared to Indigenous tourismThese 68 businesses contributed $198 million to our economy, in other provinces, even though Ontario makes up a third ofrepresenting 12 per cent of Ontarios total tourism output, the industry. In fact, the funding disparity between provincialwhile generating 1,595 jobs. It is estimated that 15,204 FTE Indigenous tourism organizations is vast, with some provincial(full-time equivalent) jobs will be directly related to Indigenous organizations receiving upwards of $2 million per year comparedtourism by 2020.to Ontarios approximate $150,000 per year. With these fundsThe Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) was from the federal and provincial governments, ITO continues toincorporated in 2015 as a not-for-profit society. Eshkawkogan operate an office, support a staff, provide products and services,serves on the ITAC Board of Directors, among other and promote and advocate on behalf of its members.Indigenous tourism industry representatives. According to its website, ITAC focuses on creating partnerships between asso-ciations, organizations, government departments and industry leaders from across Canada to help grow Indigenous tourism.ITAC has delivered more industry growth in the last three years than the previous 20 years combined, proving that we can produce tremendous results in a short period of time through a coordinated national strategy and with sufficient investment, writes Keith Henry, President and CEO of the ITAC, in their Five-year Strategic Plan Update. Given increasing international consumer demand, now is the time to accelerate investment in order to meet the full potential of Indigenous tourism in Canada. For Indigenous tourism operators the market is ripe with opportunity. According to Eshkawkogan, Europeans, particu-larly Germans, made up almost 80 per cent of the visitors to Ontario in the past, but the Asian markets are coming on very strong in recent years.26l ISSUE 1 2019C hIEfS ofo ntarIoA dvocAte magazInE'