Cultural Centers–Planning for Tourism

Cultural Centers–Planning for Tourism

AIANTA Webinar Series

Webinar: Cultural Centers–Planning for Tourism

Join us as we welcome three Native women leaders in cultural tourism. Two guide major cultural centers and the third is working on opening a new center. Learn how they share the art, culture and voices of their tribes and how they are planning for tourism during and post pandemic.

You will hear  from Keneggnarkayaaggaq Emily Edenshaw, EMBA, President & CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center and how she helped lead cultural tourism efforts across Alaska with the end goal of advancing awareness of the entire Alaska Native community. Also, presenting in this webinar is Undersecretary Valorie Walters, with the Department of Culture and Humanities from the Chickasaw Nation. She will share their efforts to elevate Chickasaw history, their museums and their language by promoting and sharing the strong and unique culture of the Chickasaw people. Lastly, Kate Anderson, Director of Public Relations for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians will discuss how she leads the team responsible for developing communication, educational and outreach programs to advance community knowledge and understanding of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and its efforts.

Panelists

Moderator:

Bianca Mitchell (Pueblo of Acoma), AIANTA Education Manager

Presenters:

Keneggnarkayaaggaq Emily Edenshaw, EMBA, President & CEO, Alaska Native Heritage Center
With roots in Emmonak, Alaska, Keneggnarkayaaggaq Emily Edenshaw (Yup’ik/Iñupiaq) is the President and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC), a renowned, statewide living cultural center located in Anchorage, Alaska. For the last several years, Keneggnarkayaaggaq has led cultural tourism efforts across Alaska with the end goal of advancing the entire Alaska Native community. In 2020, Keneggnarkayaaggaq was named Vice President of the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) Arts, Cultural and Heritage Statewide Chapter Board, elected to the ATIA Board of Directors, elected to the Alaska Humanities Forum Board of Directors, and appointed to the Anchorage Public Safety Commission. Her Yup’ik name Keneggnarkayaaggaq means a person with a beautiful persona, spirit, aura and friend. Keneggnarkayaaggaq and her husband Devin have three beautiful sons and two adventurous daughters.

Valorie Walters, Undersecretary, Department of Culture and Humanities, The Chickasaw Nation
Valorie Walters began her career with the Chickasaw Nation in 2002 and currently serves as the Undersecretary for the Department of Culture and Humanities. In this role she assists in elevating Chickasaw history, culture, museums and language by promoting and sharing the strong and unique culture of the Chickasaw people.
Valorie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Advertising and Public Relations from East Central University in Ada, OK.

Valorie currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Oklahoma Humanities, the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma Museums Association and the Board of Directors for the Davis, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce.
Valorie is of Chickasaw and Choctaw descent and is an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.

Kate Anderson, Director of Public Relations, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Kate Anderson is the Director of Public Relations for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. She is an enrolled tribal member of Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a federally recognized tribe with a reservation in Shawnee, Oklahoma. She has three decades experience in journalism, photography, public relations, marketing and film.
As the Director of Public Relations, Kate leads a team responsible for developing communication, educational and outreach programs to help advance community knowledge and understanding of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and its efforts.

Ms. Anderson also operates the Agua Caliente Film Office and serves as the liaison to all filmmakers and photographers working on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation.

The Agua Caliente Indian Reservation covers about 31,500 acres across four jurisdictions including the cities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage and unincorporated areas of Riverside County.

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