Aboriginal Tourism BC at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games
The Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia has arranged for some of the industry’s most compelling interviews, visuals and spellbinding stories to be available to media in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Give us a call and we’ll help you get the story you need, when you need it.
On deadline? Only have an hour or two? We’ll meet any timeline and give you authentic and colourful First Nations experiences for your story. Tell us what you’re after and we’ll deliver the First Nations tourism operators with exactly what you need.
Click here to view AtBC's Games Time Media Protocol (PDF).
2010 Games Time Media Kit (PDF)
AtBC has produced a Media Kit specifically for use during the 2010 games. The 2010 Games Time Media Kit features story ideas and resources for media in and around the Vancouver and Whistler areas during the games.
Click here to download the 2010 Games Time Media Kit (PDF).
Story Ideas - Interviews & Visuals, Here & Now
Choose from a selection of First Nations tourism stories listed below, or give us a call and let us create a unique and personalized First Nations experience for you.
Story Idea #1 - Tourism and the Revitalization of First Nations Culture
First Nations culture in British Columbia is experiencing a rebirth and revitalization, thanks in large part to a growing interest in cultural tourism.
The new demand for cultural tourism products has given First Nations peoples in British Columbia an unprecedented opportunity to develop businesses that showcase traditions, histories and culture.
Cultural centres, museums, interpretive tours, dances and regalia draw on the experience and culture of elders and pass those customs and traditions to a new, younger generation.
Tourism is not only helping revive cultural practices among the current generation of First Nations, it’s also providing the jobs and economic benefits necessary for many smaller Aboriginal communities.
Thanks to cultural tourism, First Nations traditions and customs are being revitalized for the benefit of communities across British Columbia.
Story Idea #2 - Native Plants and Wisdom: Natural Remedies from the Land
For thousands of years, British Columbia’s First Nations peoples lived perfectly fulfilling lives by making use of the flora, fauna and land on which they lived.
That simple life is long gone, but the traditions and know-how live on.
Douglas Green of Cariboo-Chilcotin Jetboat Adventures carries on the traditions, customs and practices of the Chilcotin people His wilderness jet boat tours show how his elders would have used the land to provide both life’s staples and luxuries.
Using his elder’s expertise and plants from the land, Douglas creates teas, desserts, medicinal herbs and treats for children that are tastes from an ancient time.
Story Idea #3 - Lahal: A Game of Diplomacy and High Stakes
It’s both a friendly, family pastime and a contest by which fortunes and wars are won and lost. Lahal, the bones game, has been played for stakes that would make poker champions blink.
Given to the people by the Creator after the last ice age, lahal is a means of diplomacy and conflict resolution. Today, it’s played more often for fun, but its ancient history is never far from the surface.
The rules are simple and universal among the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. Two teams have two small sticks each; one with a mark, one without. Teams take turns guessing who is hiding the opponent’s marked stick.
The game may seem simple, but in practice it’s noisy, colourful and tense. Songs, shouting, dancing, gesturing and drama are all part.
Mike Retasket is from the Bonaparte Indian Band near Cache Creek, BC. He’s been playing lahal since he was a boy and has seen fortunes won and lost; money, cars, houses, land and friendships. Mike teaches the game to keep its tradition and its significance alive.
Story Idea #4 - The Ancient Art of First Nations Birch Bark Bitings
From her artist’s studio in British Columbia’s Shuswap, Half Moon Woman, also known as Pat Bruderer, is keeping one of the oldest First Nations art forms alive.
Birch bark bitings are created by folding thin pieces of birch tree bark and placing them between one’s teeth. The artist visualizes the design she wants to create, bites down and rotates the bark with her hands.
The result is an elaborately beautiful, and often haunting, design. In ancient times, the most coveted designs were used for parts of a Chief’s regalia, and it was said that each bite mark represented a spirit.
Today, Half Moon Woman’s birch bark bitings are highly acclaimed works of art and have found homes in museums such as the Glenbow Museum, the Museum of Man and Nature and several private collections around the world.
Half Moon Woman is one of just three people alive who still practice the art form.
Story Idea #5 - Xá:ytem Historic Longhouse: Uncovering 9,000 Years of History
In the early 1990s, construction of a housing development uncovered what would become one of the richest and oldest First Nations archaeological sites in North America.
Archaeologists excavated thousands of artefacts from the ancient village site, including the foundation of a traditional pit house. Through the use of carbon dating, the remains of wooden posts from that house were dated back to 9,000 years old.
For the Sto:lo Nation, this was important proof of their connection to the land. Today, Xá:ytem is a National Historic Site and an important part of Canada’s First Nations heritage.
A new longhouse has been constructed on the site to act as an interpretive and heritage centre. Guides from the Sto:lo Nation give visitors informative tours of the site.
Highlights include:
- Two recreated traditional pit houses
- A carving shed and resident carver
- A crafts centre where you can try traditional weaving with cedar bark and wool
- A visit to the Sto:lo people’s sacred transformation stone
Story Idea #6 - Ancient Art, 21st Century Media
Not all First Nations artists work with traditional forms and tools. As an up-and-coming visual artist, Alano Edzerza is just as comfortable working with AutoCad as he is a chisel or paintbrush.
Alano creates striking and original graphics that blend traditional crests and myths with contemporary interpretations and innovative color schemes.
Most recently, he was commissioned by Team Netherlands to create their 2010 Olympic uniforms.
"The peoples of the Northwest Coast did not develop a written language. They developed an art form to tell the stories of our histories," says Edzerza. "This art form developed into one of the most advanced art forms in the world. This is the art of a once dying culture. It’s the art that is bringing the culture back alive."