40 Turtle Island, Not North America With Dr. Lyla June

Welcome back to The Tourism RESET with me, your host, Rebecca Woolford. My guest today is Dr. Lyla June Johnston, aka Lyla June, an Indigenous musician, author, and activist of Diné nation and European heritage.

Lyla’s creativity and passion have engaged audiences around the globe. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford with doctoral research focused on how pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped Turtle Island (now called the Americas). Lyla’s wisdom and guidance have completely reshaped how I think about the tourism industry.

Here's what you'll discover in this episode:

🌍 What Turtle Island really means, and why understanding this is foundational for anyone promoting travel in North America

🌍 How generational trauma shapes Indigenous communities, and why tourism professionals and businesses need this context to shape how we see the world

🌍 Three key challenges Indigenous communities face, and how tourism done right can support regeneration rather than extraction

🌍 The critical Indigenous principles of solidarity and reciprocity

Enjoyed listening? Visit thetourismreset.com, on-demand video learning for tourism pros. A great place to begin is the 5 Minute Reset series, (one expert, one topic, less than five mins).