The Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization announces that Stephanie Sarazin, a tourism operator with strong ties with our regional community, has been nationally recognized for her contributions to growing, building and improving Canada’s aboriginal tourism industry.
On Wednesday, December 14, Ms. Sarazin was awarded an Aboriginal Tourism Award for Best Cultural Ambassador at the fifth-annual International Aboriginal Tourism Conference in Membertou, Nova Scotia.
Celebrating leaders across Canada’s aboriginal tourism industry, the award highlights individuals who are dedicated to increasing the profile of authentic aboriginal tourism experiences throughout the country, and who find meaningful ways to represent their culture to visitors.
“It’s an amazing honour to see all of my years of hard work, dedication and the passion that I have for what I do being recognized in such a huge way,” says Ms. Sarazin, an Algonquin from Pikwakanagan who has spent the last 13 years working for Aboriginal Experiences in Ottawa. The company offers programs that immerse visitors in First Nation’s culture through guided tours, traditional cuisine, powwow dance performances and more. Its Aboriginal Voyageur program has been named a Signature Experience by Destination Canada.
According to Ms. Sarazin, this is an exciting time for the aboriginal tourism industry in Canada.
“I feel like the world is changing,” she says. “I used to see a big gap of people not understanding. But there’s an increased interest now in learning about our past. And the best way to learn about Canada’s history is by coming to see people like us.”
In 2016, Ms. Sarazin began offering programming at her newly re-opened business, Anishinaabe Experiences, in Golden Lake. She has partnered with local businesses Wilderness Tours and Horse Country Campground near Foresters Falls to bring a taste of traditional Algonquin living to the Ottawa Valley and beyond, and has plans for an official launch in summer of 2017.
Earlier this year, she took part in OHTO’s IGNITE Ottawa Valley program, where she says she learned about the power and potential of experiential tourism.
“We have such a rich culture that needs to be shared,” Ms. Sarazin says. “I’m thrilled when a visitor leaves with a deeper understanding and appreciation of our way of life — the bond that we have with nature and our land; the way we see life in a non-linear way as a full circle; and the respect that we have for all living things. I love seeing visitors’ reactions when the light-bulb goes on and they become truly connected, and are eager to find out more.”
