The village chief jokes with tourists in Spanish before the English language tour begins.


A traditional community building sits behind the village soccer field.


dered competition between neighboring communities as well as with non-indigenous tour operators. In many cases tour and hotel operators have used indigenous people as props to fulfill the curiosity and expectations of tourists. In these cases, the communities are at the economic mercy of tour operators, and they have little influence over the way their culture is presented, or misrepresented. As indigenous communities have become


increasingly savvy they have organized and created networks such as the Napo RICAN- CIE, a group of Kichwa communities on the Napo River that operate collective eco-tourism activities. The Napo RICANCIE is in turn a member of the Plurinational Federation of Community Tourism of Ecuador, which represents community initiatives throughout Ecuador. Better organizational practices, and networks like Napo-RICANCIE eventually allow many indigenous communities greater self-determination, both economically and in the way they choose to present their culture, but tourism still presents problems. Members of the Napo RICANCIE bemoan


the impact on their culture. Youth are “trying to be like visitors in terms of clothing, expres- sion and thought,” they say. At the same time


38 AMERICAN INDIAN SPRING 2017


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