Livelihood Sovereignty as a means of Cultural Sustainability

Keywords: Livelihoods, Sovereignty, Culture, Sustainability, Community
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

The exponential growth of tourism in Southeast Alaska in recent decades capitalizes on the common perception of the region being an untouched landscape. Yet, the tourism industry can also encourage the commodification of the culture of rural communities. Consequently, communities must decide how to integrate the industry while sustaining the traditional livelihoods that form the foundation of the local culture and art. To understand how communities can sustain cherished cultural identities, an in-depth understanding of who influences the processes of commodification is necessary. This presentation explores the intersection between tourism development, livelihood sustainability, and cultural identity by reporting on empirical research in three Southeast Alaskan communities that experience different forms of cruise tourism development. This presentation uses the recently introduced theoretical lens of livelihood sovereignty, defined as the enhanced levels of local resident control and influence over management institutions and decision-making regarding the persistence of valued traditional practices, how new production opportunities are integrated into local socio-economic systems, and how local community wellbeing is perpetuated over time. In an effort to use decolonizing methodologies, this work emphasizes community engagement via the development of community advisory boards and uses ethnographic methods to forefront resident perceptions. A particular emphasis is on how residents maintain ownership over their cultural identity by sustaining the place-based assets of their traditional livelihoods and the natural resources upon which they are built. This presentation will benefit those interested in the heterogeneity of cruise tourism forms, their distinct impacts on the legacies of traditional livelihoods, and cultural autonomy.