Abstract
‘’Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage is an irreplaceable source of life and inspiration’’(Source:UNESCO, 2017).
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples worldwide have used their cultural heritage, particularly indigenous knowledge and interaction with the natural environment, as the main survival mechanism. They regulate the use of natural resources through custodial ownership of traditional knowledge and practices to keep their environment in the most pristine state for the future generation (Battiste, 2016:121). The prescribed custodial ownership over indigenous knowledge is inforced by each group's customs, rules, and practices that in turn inform, sustain and maintain their cultural identity and cohesion (Ivanovic, 2008:14 Kumar, 2018:7; Monaheng, 2016:32). Breen (2014:83) summarises the two-fold role of traditional knowledge in the lives of indigenous people: firstly, it plays an intrinsic role both in the formation and practice of cultural traditions in communities and societies across the African continent, and secondly, it provides a sense of identity to different communities through their way of life, beliefs, norms, traditions, and cultural practices. From a holistic perspective, the African indigenous peoples’ unique conception of life defines their distinctive identities as people, which is why tourists travel to the world's remotest areas to experience their authentic and unique cultural heritage (Federico, 2016:128). This interaction between tourists and indigenous people is known as indigenous tourism. It is defined as tourism activities in which indigenous people are directly involved either through control and/or by showcasing their knowledge and cultural practices as the essence of tourist attraction (Richards, 2017:43; Saarinen et al., 2017:308; Walker & Moscardo, 2016:1243). Notwithstanding cultural heritage being a distinct type of tourist attraction and a
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major source of authentic tourist experiences in indigenous tourism, it greatly influences how traditional people see themselves, further strengthening their cultural identity and pride (Cassel & Maureira, 2017:1; Ivanovic, 2008).
According to Smith and Richard (1996: 283), indigenous tourism involves native people whose ethnicity is an attraction. Their knowledge and sustainable use of the natural resources for generations kept the environment under their custodianship in most the pristine state (Battiste, 2016:121; Saarinen, 2013). For this reason, the indigenous territories have often been declared world heritage sites in recognition of their outstanding natural and cultural properties (Disko, 2015). However, the very act of institutionalised protection of these environments and changes in the custodianship of indigenous territories often lead to their demise (Disko & Tugendhat, 2014). Once proclaimed by UNESCO the World Heritage Site becomes a must-see tourist attraction and instantly attracts an increasing number of visitors, which further aggravates the situation. From indigenous tribes’ perspective, the WHS status and increasing numbers of tourists pose a threat to their survival. The main challenge remains is to continue to maintain the natural resources in the most sustainable way to ensure the survival of the group, while adhering to many unsustainable new (UNESCO and national government’s) rules and restrictions brought about by its World Heritage status. According to the General Assembly of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN, 2007:11), the protection of indigenous peoples’ cultural identity and rights represents a predominant theme throughout the whole text of the UNDRIP. The Declaration includes several provisions affirming the right of indigenous peoples to practice, develop and revitalize their cultural and spiritual traditions and customs and to maintain, control, protect and develop their tangible and intangible cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions (Articles 11, 12, 13, 25, 31 and 34, among others)...