Catherine Magee - The Impact of Cross-Disciplinary Conservation on Social Development 16th & 17th May at the UCL Institute of Archaeology

Catherine Magee (University of Nevada, Reno, USA)

The Washoe People at Lake Tahoe: the reciprocal relationship of tourism and cultural heritage preservation

Magee highlights the tourist versus local tension expressed in the actions of local and native populations to reclaim or reassert their authority over their cultural heritage landscape from tourist use in Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada, USA.  The case study specifically focuses on the Washoe Indian tribe, examining the transition of the Lake Tahoe landscape from a Washoe summer gathering place to a shoreline occupied by tourist resorts and summer home communities.  It examines the reciprocal relationship of the Washoe to tourist sites, and the cultural and ecological implications of this relationship.  The paper culminates with the link between Washoe cultural practices and tourism at Lake Tahoe today.

Book your ticket here