Cultural Tourism Program
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Maine tribes have long depended on their craftsmanship and creative abilities to survive. Since the late 19th Century, they have been selling their arts and crafts and putting on pageants to attract audiences and buyers. Their wares are sold in retail outlets from Bar Harbor to Eastport to Old Town to Portland and all points North and South. However, there is no large scale venue in Northern New England to attract buyers and collectors. The Wabanaki Cultural Tourism Center (WCTC) Four Directions Development Corporation (FDDC) has received a grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to plan and develop a Wabanaki Cultural Tourism Center. The Wabanaki Cultural Tourism Center will be a world class training center with a mission to assist Maine tribes in creating tourism and hospitality infrastructures within their communities. In 2009, FDDC began a two year planning and pre-development project. Each tribal community will have the opportunity to build their own infrastructure. A community member may want to start a hotel, a camp ground, a gas station, a white water rafting business or a restaurant. The Wabanaki Cultural Tourism Center would provide training in areas such as business development, hospitality, and culinary arts. This training would allow Native people to start sustainable and successful businesses. The end result would be a solid infrastructure that would capture more community and tourists dollars. Native artists and crafts people who make baskets, create works of art in various mediums such as wood, beads, drawing, photography, jewelry etc. would have outlets for their work. The Wabanaki Trail A key component of Four Direction Development Corporation’s commitment to Cultural Tourism, is a future feature of this website – a virtual Wabanaki Trail. The Wabanaki Trail will be a virtual trail on the website with locations of tribal communities, shops, accommodations, gas stations, points of interest not only within the tribal communities but the surrounding areas. Visitors who have an interest in Native culture and history will learn about Maine, its landscape, its rivers and its Maine Indian communities and the surrounding Maine communities. Please check back often for news and new features regarding these exciting additions at Four Directions Development Corporation. For More Information Contact: Four Directions Development Corporation |
