"Travel Native America"
"Travel Native America"
The American Indigenous Tourism Association's Native American travel app, "Travel Native America" is a mobile application designed to connect travelers with unique destinations in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities across the United States. It provides a platform for discovering historical, cultural, and outdoor experiences within Indian Country.
A Special Route 66 Centennial Exploration
The Route 66 Map Project uses the mobile application as a foundation for providing information regarding Native American sites and attractions along the Route 66 Corridor. In the process, the project aims to facilitate cultural tourism and promote economic growth within Native American communities by connecting travelers with authentic experiences.
The goal of the Route 66 Map Project is to encourage visitors to see and experience the Native Nations and communities adjacent to and inclusive of Route 66.
Route 66 was an officially commissioned highway from 1926 to 1985. During its lifetime, the road guided travelers through the lands of more than 25 tribal nations. It was a give-and-take relationship between the asphalt and the American Indian people—from the physical intrusion of the road on American Indian lands to the new commerce the road introduced.
American Indian stereotypes were propagated and used as a major lure for tourists on this “Mother Road” of American highways and the evidence lingers. Faded billboards, rusty metal tipis and concrete ‘wigwams' beckon from the roadside, evidence not of the tribe they were meant to represent, but of tourism marketing savvy. Today, the road can help break down these stereotypes as tribes actively share their distinct art, cultures and histories. American Indians and Route 66 were made possible through the consultation and participation of many of the tribes along the route.
