Partnership Development

We build strategic partnerships, both public and private, to extend the reach of tribes and ensure authentic tribal experiences.

AIANTA’s best work is done by connecting with tribal, federal, state and industry leaders.  Through strong relationships with our partners and stakeholders, we are able to move our mission forward.  Since our founding, we have worked to grow our existing relationships while attracting new partners to support our work.

Through our strategic partnerships, AIANTA works to educate state, federal and industry leaders so they support and facilitate a thriving Indian Country tourism industry. In our work with strategic partners, we help to cut through the noise of global tourism promotion to elevate tribal destinations among travelers, tour operators, travel agents, the media and nationally.

Our Valued Partners

Federal

  • U.S. Department of Interior
    – Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Technical Assistance Programs
    – National Park Service
    – Bureau of Land Management
    – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
    – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
  • U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Travel and Tourism Industries
  • U.S. Small Business Administration

State

Member Partners:

  • Arizona Office of Tourism
  • Colorado Tourism Office
  • Hawaii Tourism Authority
  • Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development
  • Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department
  • South Dakota Department of Tourism
  • Wyoming Office of Tourism

Tribal

  • National Congress of American Indians (MOU)
  • National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development
  • Native American Rights Fund (MOU)
  • National Indian Gaming Association (MOU)
  • American Recreation Coalition
  • American Association of Parks and Recreation
  • American Indian Law Center
  • Native American Tourism of Wisconsin
  • Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes

Industry

  • U.S. Travel Association
  • National Tour Association (MOU)
  • National Geographic Society Sustainable Destinations
  • George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies
  • International Tourism Marketing
  • Western States Tourism Policy Council (MOU)
  • Kilpatrick Stockton and Townsend (LOI)
  • Powers Pyles, Sutter and Verville PC (LOI)
  • Hobbs Straus Dean and Walker LLP (LOI)
  • Akerman, LLP

AIANTA welcomes new partnerships to expand our impact and increase collaboration throughout Indian Country and the tourism industry.

If you are interested in joining AIANTA as a strategic partner, contact Hannah Peterson, AIANTA’s Development Director at hpeterson@aianta.org or 505.361.2168.

The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association Celebrates 25 Years as the Leader in Cultural Heritage Tourism and Announces Historic Name Change of National Conference at 25th Annual Event

The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association Celebrates 25 Years as the Leader in Cultural Heritage Tourism and Announces Historic Name Change of National Conference at 25th Annual Event

Today, the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA), the only national organization dedicated to advancing cultural heritage tourism in Native Nations and communities across the United States, announced that its signature American Indian Tourism Conference (AITC) will become the American Indigenous Tourism Conference to reflect inclusivity of all U.S. Native Nations and communities beyond tribes, as Indigenous tourism continues to preserve generations of cultural heritage storytelling. The news was delivered in a keynote address by AIANTA CEO Sherry L. Rupert as the national nonprofit kicked off its 25th anniversary at the Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Okla. on the tribal homelands of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

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Native-Owned Farmers Markets

Native-Owned Farmers Markets

National Farmers Market Week is August 6 – 12, 2023! National Farmers Market Week serves as an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the vital role that farmers markets play in Indigenous communities. This week not only acknowledges the contributions of local farmers but also highlights the cultural, social, and economic importance of these markets to certain communities.

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AIANTA Seeks Seven New Members for Board of Directors

AIANTA Seeks Seven New Members for Board of Directors

AIANTA Seeks New Members for Board of DirectorsAIANTA is looking to fill seven vacant leadership positions. AIANTA’s Nominating Committee is leading the recruitment, with Mary Goddard, the Board’s Southeast Alaska Representative, as Chair of the Committee.FOR...

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AMERICAN INDIANS AND ROUTE 66

More than half of Historic U.S. Route 66 lies in Indian Country, roughly 1,372 miles. AIANTA, in collaboration with the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and Cherokee travel writer Lisa Hicks Snell, has published a tour guide of Route 66, bringing American Indian voices and a new perspective to this iconic highway.

To learn more, visit www.AmericanIndiansAndRoute66.com