Showing Off the Last Frontier: Sharing Alaska's lands and cultures.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: ALASKA NATIVE

In a state in which tourism is a major economic driver, it's not surprising that Alaska Native corporations would establish and operate their own visitor attractions. What sets them apart--whether running lodges deep in Denali Park, operating the Kodiak Brown Bear Center in the Karluk Basin, or running a tram to the top of Mt. Roberts in downtown Juneau--is their emphasis on culture in every aspect of what they do.

"One of the biggest advantages of our tourism products is the element of being Alaska Native-owned and -operated; we represent more than just summer tourism in Alaska," says Marie Monroe, general manager for Kantishna Roadhouse, owned by Doyon, Limited. "People staying with us want to learn more about our culture and to know that they are getting an authentic Alaska experience from an authentic Alaskan business."

"Our heritage and history is at the forefront of everything that we do," agrees Elliott Wimberly, president and CEO of Goldbelt, Inc. "It is clear to visitors, our employees, and everyone who does business with us that we are an Alaska Native corporation."

Location, Location, Location?

In most cases, tourism businesses choose their locations in places where they know people want to visit and where it is fairly easy to attract large numbers of customers. This is not always the case, however, when the destinations involve Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) lands.

"Traditional marketing is all about location, location, location," explains Jon Panamaroff, CEO of the Kodiak Brown Bear Center, owned by Koniag. "But because of where our land is located, we needed to create a marketing and business model that has visitors coming to us instead of us going to them."

The Kodiak Brown Bear Center and Karluk River Cabins are located on 112,000 acres that Koniag owns in the middle of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. Only accessible by helicopter or float plane, the location attracts about 120 people a year looking to stay at its high-end, luxury cabins.

"Alaska Native corporations are culturally and socially bound to take care of the lands that we received from our ancestors, and the beauty of the Karluk Basin and our tribal lands presented an opportunity," Panamaroff says. "Our leadership chose to maintain and develop the land as a way to meet our responsibilities to our shareholders and community and to share it, and our culture, with the world."

According to Panamaroff, the center's success is a result of following Koniag's six core values that direct all operations from the corporate to the subsidiary levels...