Restoring Native Culture with Regenerative Tourism in Alaska

Mary Goddard: Restoring Native Culture with Regenerative Tourism in Alaska?

In the age of TikTok and Instagram, it seems there’s no place we haven’t seen, but if you’ve ever been to Alaska, you know there’s a whole lotta world left to discover — a world on the forefront of climate change, the energy transition, advocacy for Native rights, and…regenerative tourism. Because in the midst of the challenges Alaskans are navigating, including transportation, supply chain, and food security, they’re seeing unprecedented numbers of tourists.

The islanded town of Sitka swells from under 9,000 to nearly half a million in the summertime, coming in on cruise ships. These ships bring opportunities, and they also bring complications for the people who live there, and for the environment. In her role as regenerative tourism catalyst, Mary Goddard relies on Alaska Native values of sustainability and hospitality to help build a healthy relationship between her community and the tourists who visit.

“When you talk about regenerative tourism, it's always based on indigenous knowledge and wisdom, and you can see that across the world. Where you're from, you are an ambassador for your place. You see yourself as a steward of the land and the ocean and the culture and your community.”

-Mary Goddard

Mary is a member of the Tlingit tribe. She's a mother, an artist, an entrepreneur, a filmmaker, an all-around force of nature. When you talk with Mary, you can't help but feel the wonder and sense the beauty of the world she inhabits, that we all inhabit — from the wilds of Alaska to the hills of Tennessee, wherever you find yourself.?

Listen to HOPE Is My Middle Name Season 2 Episode 5, Mary Goddard: Restoring Native Culture with Regenerative Tourism in Alaska on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere.

Mary Goddard’s food blog is ForestFreshAlaska, and you can find her artwork at AlaskaMary.com ?If you want to visit Sitka, Mary recommends you stay at CampStarlightAlaska. And if you’re a veteran or first responder, Mary and her husband invite you to reconnect with nature at Waypoint for Veterans.

Links that Mary references in the episode include AIANTA (American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association), Spruce Root, Sustainable Southeast Partnership, and Sealaska.

You can watch the American Innovators episode, The Alaskan Island Running (almost) Entirely on Renewable Energy that we filmed in Sitka, and subscribe for more Made In America episodes at YouTube.com/ConsensusDigitalMedia.

If you know someone who should be on this show, please message me here or on instagram.com/katetuckermusic. I love hearing more stories of HOPE.

Hosted and produced by Kate Tucker, Hope Is My Middle Name is a podcast by Consensus Digital Media in collaboration with Reasonable Volume.