Montana Tribal Tourism Alliance working on the development of "Seven Lodges - A Visitors Guide to Montana’s Indian Country"
| December 4, 2007 |  View for printing |
Opportunity for American Indian Small Business Owners in Tourism
The Montana Tribal Tourism Alliance (MTTA) is working on the development of “Seven Lodges ~ A Visitors Guide to Montana’s Indian Country” in an effort to promote and market Indian-owned tourism businesses on the seven Indian reservations in Montana. The development of the Seven Lodges Visitors Guide is an initial step to develop culturally appropriate tourism in Indian Country in Montana.
“The time is right for American Indians in Montana to voice our own “Welcome” to visitors who are interested in visiting Montana’s Indian Country”, says Dyani Bingham, Director of the Montana Tribal Tourism Alliance. Over 10 million visitors travel to Montana each year and it is the goal of the MT Tribal Tourism Alliance to capture their attention with the Seven Lodges Visitors Guide. “As an industry, tourism is very positive. Tourism has the potential to boost business enterprise, hospitality, cultural preservation and recreation in a way that is beneficial to Indian communities and visitors”, exclaims Ms. Bingham.
The Seven Lodges Visitors Guide will be a first welcome to “Indian Country” in Montana and will encourage visitors to communicate directly with tribal and Indian owned businesses. The guidebook will guide the visitor to patronize Indian owned businesses in order to purchase authentic American Indian made arts, crafts and other hand-made products. The guidebook will also list recreational sites, lodging facilities, interpretive byways and more. G&G Advertising will design the Seven Lodges Visitors Guide, and will continue to work with MTTA on future marketing campaigns. G&G Advertising is a highly successful Native American owned marketing agency with offices in Billings, MT and Albuquerque, NM.
The Seven Lodges Visitors Guide is really about empowerment for American Indians interested in tourism. The goal is to provide an inter-tribal, cooperative marketing base that will empower Indian small business owners to market and distribute their goods and services to national and international visitors. It is the hope that the Seven Lodges Visitors Guide will also empower American Indians in Montana by providing an economic opportunity that is rooted in cultural preservation and positive imagery.
To request a Seven Lodges Visitors Guide application, please call Dyani Bingham at 406-208-2389 or email her at dyani_b@hotmail.com.
MTTA would also like to put out a call for high-quality, high-resolution photographs to be used in the Seven Lodges Visitors Guide. Photographs should be in a .jpg format and should exemplify the people, art, beauty, diversity, landscape, celebrations, recreational sites and businesses of Indian Country in Montana.
The other important aspect of tribal tourism development is training. It is important to inventory the tourism product that is currently available and offer training that will help the tribal tourism business succeed. Currently, MTTA is partnering with Travel MT and the State Tribal Economic Development Commission to build a calendar of tourism training opportunities for American Indians in MT that will include topics like pricing, marketing, hospitality, American Indian Tour guide development, visitor demographics and branding.
The Montana Tribal Tourism Alliance is an inter-tribal, non-profit organization that promotes culturally appropriate economic development through tourism. Since 1999, MTTA has worked with a wide array of partners on tribal tourism initiatives, including tourism education and cooperative marketing efforts. We are dedicated to providing American Indians in Montana the resources necessary to build tourism in Montana’s Indian Country. The MTTA offices are located at 207 N. Broadway, CO 15 in Billings, MT and we are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. The phone number is 406-208-2389 and you may reach us via email at dyani_b@hotmail.com. 
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