Territory of Akwesasne—The Akwesasne Tourism Working Group (ATWG) is pleased to announce the launch of our Experience Akwesasne Interactive Map, which is now accessible at www.experienceAkwesasne.com—a digital tour featuring our community’s rich artistic, historical, and cultural heritage. Visitors can now use the map to plan their visit to Akwesasne and navigate local points of interest using their smartphones. The digital map weaves visitors to locally owned businesses that offer traditional arts and services; along with local lore, historical sites, and ecological treasures that can only be truly appreciated first hand by visiting Akwesasne.
Two launch events have been scheduled to showcase the interactive map. The first on Seskehkó:wa/September 27, 2016 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Experience Akwesasne Welcome Centre located at 167 International Road on Kawehnoke (Cornwall Island). The second will take place on Seskehkó:wa/September 29, 2016 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Akwesasne Cultural Center Library & Museum (a.k.a. Akwesasne Cultural Center) located at 321 State Route 37 in the southern portion of Akwesasne.
Along with featuring local businesses and showcasing our acclaimed artisans, the interactive map helps educate visitors, Native and non-Native, on the cultural and historical significance of the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory—utilizing Mohawk place names to support the strengthening of our language. It is a product of community collaboration that draws from the extensive collection of historical images from the Akwesasne Cultural Center Library & Museum.
A soft launch of the interactive map occurred at the Experience Akwesasne Welcome Centre on Seskehkó:wa/September 13, 2016 and brought leadership, business owners, and community stakeholders together for feedback and input. If you are an artist, owner of a business providing a culturally based service, local historian, storyteller, or elder; the Working Group also wants to hear from you so your contribution to the cultural vitality of the community can be included on the map.
Development of this interactive map was made possible through the generous support of the University of California, Davis Humanities Center and their Mellon Public Scholars Program in partnership with the Akwesasne Cultural Center Library & Museum and the ATWG.
For more information, please contact Lindsay. M. Tarbell, SRMT Economic Development Planner and Chair of the ATWG at (518) 651-4073 or lindsay.tarbell@srmt-nsn.gov.
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About the Akwesasne Tourism Development Initiative:
The need to develop tourism in the Territory of Akwesasne was identified as a priority in the Akwesasne Comprehensive Community Development Plan (SRMT 2008) and in the Akwesasne Comprehensive Community Plan (MCA 2016). As a result, the Akwesasne Tourism Community Development Initiative was developed through the collaborative efforts of the following representatives that comprise the Akwesasne Tourism Working Group (ATWG): Native North American Travelling College (NNATC), Akwesasne Cultural Center Library & Museum (ACCM), Onkwehon:we Arts Council (OAC), Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs (MNCC), Akwesasne Area Management Board (AAMB), Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA), and Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT).
The Akwesasne Tourism Working Group is guiding the identification and successful completion of several community tourism projects, events, plans and publications; including the Akwesasne Tourism Strategic Action Plan (ATSAP 2016) that contains several objectives being worked on by ATWG sub-groups. In coordination with the Akwesasne Cultural Center, the ATWG is hosting public workshops from Kentenhkó:wa/November 17-19, 2016 to develop community beautification projects through the sponsorship of The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ Award; a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Project for Public Spaces, Inc., and the Orton Family Foundation. The Beautify Akwesasne Pilot Project is also accepting applications at this time with work ending Kentenhkó:wa/November 2016.