Thrive Tours
March 8th, 2023 | Sharing Circle
Thrive Tours is an Indigenous owned and operated sustainable tourism provider. We share nature-based Indigenous educational experiences year-round on both land and water. Guests are able to experience:
Indigenous Interpretive Guided walks / hikes / snowshoeing / kayaking / canoeing
Fire & Food sharing – Cooking over a fire, (examples – Cedar Tea / Bannock)
Stories and Traditional teachings – Anishinaabe & Haudenosaunee
Indigenous Art and creating workshops – Woodland Style Drawing / Painting, Leather medicine bag making, Hide shakers
Outdoor Adventure 101 – Learn ropes, knots, shelter & fire building
Medicine Walk – Plant ID and traditional uses
Grandmother Drum with Shakers -Teachings and songs
Learn to Pow wow – Regalia, Dance, Etiquette
Through the TRF, we were able to create a year-round cultural camp to provide sustainable access to the land and water. Promoting land stewardship, Indigenous history and indigenous interpretive experiences available to all. Baawaating is the meeting place for Anishinaabe, Cree and Metis people, so it is a significant area. Historically, there was always a lot of commerce here, as it was a geographical pinch point for many travellers. The TRF funding allowed us to purchase canoes, kayaks, trailers, electric power for off-grid services, kayak racks, canoe racks, set racks, a mobile unit and a teepee for youth camps. TRF funding also helped us hire professional services to create a business plan.
We get visitors and groups from all over the world, from all walks of life. The natural settings and landscapes we visit on our excursions provide a backdrop to all we do, and the water, land and forests give people a sense of wonderment and a tactile experience. We look forward to larger groups in the future, including cruise ships and different multi-level bus tours. A large tour group brought ten groups to us last year, including an “education-focused” group of seniors that we shared food and singing with; they declared our experience the best stop on their itinerary!
We are also developing year-round programming, through an Indigenous lens, with kids coming out for age-specific experiences that will give them a deeper understanding of the history and geography of the territories around their communities.
