Struggling Indigenous tourism companies wishing for open U.S. border

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“We really hope Canada can reopen the US border as soon as possible.”

Author of the article:

Nick Pearce • Local journalism initiative

Publication date:

July 06, 2021 • 29 minutes ago • 3 minutes read • Join the conversation Canada’s Indigenous Tourism Association President Keith Henry said the pandemic had dealt a severe blow to indigenous tourism in Saskatchewan. (Saskatoon StarPhoenix) jpg

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Battle River Outfitters operator Rick Albert is in a fix.

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For the second summer in a row, he had to postpone the hunting trips of 25 Americans, all eager to track deer and elk near his home on Sweetgrass First Nation.

The closed borders have instead forced Albert to do business with Canadians who are comparatively less willing to spend large sums of money on local hotels and restaurants.

“It’s just not the same as when I bring the Americans here,” he said. “They mean business when they come here to hunt.”

He is one of around 90 indigenous tourism companies in Saskatchewan that want open borders. That hope comes from the fact that the mutual travel restrictions between Canada and the US – which prohibit all voluntary travel between the two countries – are due to expire on July 21st.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he understood how eager people are to reopen the border, but noted that the pandemic is still ongoing and “things are not yet normal”.

“Nobody wants us to act too quickly and have to re-impose restrictions when the number of cases increases, as we are seeing elsewhere in the world,” he said. “We have to do this right.”

Waiting for the trip to return has “hibernated” many indigenous-run tourism companies, said Keith Henry, president of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada.

In 2019, Saskatchewan’s indigenous tourism employed 3,600 people, but as the pandemic started, the number dropped to 626, Henry said. These companies have since regained some lost ground and now employ about 1,200 people, he said.

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With domestic tourism unable to completely fill the void normally filled by American visitors, Henry is open to any solution that opens the border. The lack of a clear plan worries him.

“We hope (an open border) will get traffic going,” said Henry. “We really hope Canada can reopen the US border as soon as possible.”

That could make all the difference for the 10 or so people that Barry Carriere, a Cumberland House outfitter, hires every summer. Like Albert at Sweetgrass First Nation, he has a group of US customers waiting to travel. He believes they should be able to do this if they are vaccinated and if they take the right precautions.

“I would like to see them really open borders for them because everyone is struggling with that,” he said.

Michela Carriere, unrelated to Barry, runs Aski Holistic Adventures near Cumberland House. She has managed the past year through working with local visitors, contract work, and support from Tourism Saskatchewan and the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada.

But these utilities are slowing down, and she is spending more time online convincing guests – suspicious of complex international travel – that the visit is safe.

“I’ll definitely say there is interest out there, but it’s almost too early for this big boom,” she said.

“I don’t know what the future will bring.”

– With Canadian press files

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