Conflicts, battlefields, indigenous peoples and tourism: addressing dissonant heritage in warfare tourism in Australia and North America in the twenty‐first century

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the omission of Indigenous narratives in battlefields and sites of conflicts while also highlighting how certain battlefields and sites of conflicts have attempted to address dissonant heritage by diversifying interpretation strategies and implementing elements of collaborative management approaches, thereby addressing Indigenous erasure.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a content analysis, field studies and case studies to examine dissonant heritage in warfare tourism sites involving Indigenous peoples in Australia and North America.

Findings

The content analysis reveals that aboriginal erasure is still prevalent within the literature on warfare and battlefield tourism. However, the case studies suggest that dissonant heritage in warfare tourism is being addressed through collaborative management strategies and culturally sensitive interpretation strategies.

Research limitations/implications

The content analysis is limited to tourism journals. The case studies highlight sites that are using adaptive management and integrating Indigenous peoples.

Practical implications

The study of dissonant heritage and warfare tourism, while relatively young, is beginning to address aboriginal erasure and cultural dissonance; this study is a contribution to this area of research.

Social implications

Addressing the impacts of aboriginal erasure and heritage dissonance in colonial settings heals the hurts of the past, while empowering communities. It also provides Indigenous communities with opportunities to diversify current tourism products.

Originality/value

This is a collaborative international paper involving Indigenous and non‐Indigenous scholars from Australia, Canada, and the USA.

Citation

Harvey Lemelin, R., Powys Whyte, K., Johansen, K., Higgins Desbiolles, F., Wilson, C. and Hemming, S. (2013), "Conflicts, battlefields, indigenous peoples and tourism: addressing dissonant heritage in warfare tourism in Australia and North America in the twenty‐first century", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 257-271. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-05-2012-0038