Tourism industry comes to town 

For Kahnawake Tourism’s Kimberly Cross, sharing the history and culture of Kahnawake is one of life’s greatest joys.

“It’s super important to me. We’re storytellers, we’re here, and we’re telling our story from our perspective,” said Cross, who is the tourism development manager at Kahnawake Tourism.

“Part of tourism is revitalizing and keeping our cultures alive, because we’re out there, we’re showing and telling about our culture.”

Cross is one of many Kahnawa’kehró:non involved in the 2025 edition of the International Indigenous Tourism Conference, hosted by the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) which will be held in Montreal next week for the first time in its 12-year history. Around 1,200 attendees are expected to flock to Tiohtià:ke for the event, which ITAC says is the biggest tourism conference in Canada.

Cross and the team at Kahnawake Tourism were involved in planning aspects of the conference.

“I’m really excited for it to be here, because when I first started attending in 2014 when I started my job, it was quite a lot smaller, it’s grown a lot in the past 10 years,” Cross said.

“There’s people I’ve seen at this conference each year that I’ve networked with and we’ve created that nationwide family, this network of tourism operators, and they’re coming here and getting to experience what we’re doing.”

Also playing a role in Kahnawake’s involvement in the conference is Bronwyn Kawenahawe Johns, Kahnawake Tourism’s public relations officer.

She’ll be sitting on a panel hosted by The Original Original, an organization that works to identify what tourism businesses are truly Indigenous-owned, where she’ll be talking about how to respectfully attend powwows.

“Powwows are something really important because they’re a moment of solidarity between all nations, and our continued support of each other is really important through the changing governments around us,” Johns said.

It’s a good opportunity to educate people who might not know about powwow etiquette, Johns said.

“When people are coming it should be common sense to pay attention to what’s going on and follow protocol, but sometimes people are just caught up in the moment and don’t listen to what the emcees are saying,” Johns said.

“We want to have the participation of all of the visitors who come to the community at our powwows, but we want to put it out clearly what to expect when you come so as not to be disrespectful.”

The logo for this year’s conference features an abstract design created by Kahnawake’s very own Leilani Shaw, who designed it around a year ago.

“It’s always kind of surreal. I did the logo so long ago that it kind of escaped my mind, but it’s like an art project that takes on a life of its own, that people are going to do things with, in the future,” she said.

“I’m really excited to see the little logo that I made on my laptop be on a so much bigger platform, and in person.”

The day before the conference kicks off, media and tour operators from across Turtle Island will be taking a tour of Kahnawake, situating them before the conference starts on Tuesday.

During the first day, around 400 attendees will be taking part in cultural activities either on site at the Montreal Convention Centre, or in Kahnawake, with each event facilitated by artisans and knowledge keepers. Cultural programming will also take place in Kanesatake, including a tour led by Wanda Gabriel.

Attendees can also take part in a cornhusk doll workshop which will be facilitated by Skanaiè:’a Deer, a beadwork workshop by Annie Kanionwarishon Marquis, and a bracelet-making workshop with replica wampum beads, facilitated by Ahonwakerane Stacey.

Marquis will be teaching attendees how to make beaded pop sockets that they can attach to the backs of their phones. She sourced customized beading kits for her group, with supplies bought locally from Nicia’s Accessories.

“I’m excited to see everyone get creative in the colours they choose, everyone has different colour palettes and sometimes you’ll see colours that you never thought would click,” she said.

She said that she’s excited to share her teachings with brand new and seasoned beaders alike - that’s part of the beauty of tourism, she said.

“Tourism is important not just to me but for everyone to see how developed our community is, and how many people outside of our community are intrigued to learn,” she said. “It’s important for events like this to continue because it helps our culture to continue to thrive and be sustained. Continuous learning and teaching will only make our culture stronger and prosper.”

Others will learn about maple tapping followed by a Two 0 Seven Restaurant brunch, and groups will also be heading out to the marina for ice fishing with Kirby Joe Diabo, with food provided by Eric “Dirt” McComber.

Caterers of all kinds are also involved in the conference, with local businesses like Screaming Chef, Simple Pleasures, Berrylicious, and TLC all providing food to hungry guests.

“Everybody’s going to get a taste of our traditional foods with a modern twist,” Cross said.

Dancers include Owen Mayo, Tehorahkwané:ken Albany, and Kaiè:wate’ Jacobs, who along with a range of local artisans will be showing the conference’s attendees what Kahnawake is all about. Keith Henry, president and chief executive officer of ITAC estimates that around 60 percent of attendees are Indigenous, with the non-Indigenous attendees often being tourism industry partners or big companies.

“We’re creating these platforms where there’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous people partnering because they want to, because it’s in everyone’s mutual interest to do so,” he said. “What this industry really requires is for us to work together to be successful, and I think that this is the most powerful way that we can show that in the industry and lead by example.”

The conference is a significant investment, costing around $1.8 million a year to run, funded in part by sponsorships and delegates tickets

“We don’t do it to make money, as long as we just break even,” Henry said. “We’re happy because we’re trying to lift Indigenous experiences locally, that’s really what we’d love to see.”

The conference will conclude on Thursday evening with an awards gala and performance by Inuk singer-songwriter Elisapie.

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