NAU’s Flagstaff Mountain campus is located at the center of the Colorado Plateau, an area rich in history and culture that five Indigenous tribes call home. It was only a matter of time until the idea of a class combining Indigenous culture and the hospitality industry was brought to life.
This idea started at the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) in alignment with NAU’s commitment to Indigenous peoples. According to Precilla Comisario Cox, lead academic advisor and main instructor for the class, it first took shape as a tribal gaming course before expanding in scope to include many forms of Indigenous hospitality.
“Hospitality is a regular practice within Indigenous cultures, whether it be through serving their elders, making sure everyone is fed or planning and participating in family and community events,” Comisario Cox said. “I connected with Indigenous community members, partners within the hospitality industry and students to learn about what is important to Indigenous peoples, what students should learn from this class and how we can make this an applicable class no matter what field they are studying.”
For now, the class focuses on Native American, Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian cultures and how they are tightly connected to the hospitality and tourism industry. The first part of the course provides students with knowledge about Indigenous history and culture; the second part focuses on applying that knowledge to different sectors of the industry.
“We are going to dive into the culinary side of hospitality and cover Indigenous-owned restaurants and food sovereignty and bring in guest speakers to do food demonstrations with our students,” Comisario Cox said. “Then we will go into lodging, spas, tribal gaming, marketing and events and finally into parks and tours. We also want to explore sustainable tourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism.”
Each topic will be taught by an expert in the industry who will share their experiences with the students through their Indigenous perspective. To add firsthand experience to the course, there are plans to take students to visit Twin Arrows Navajo Resort and Casino and the spa inside Enchantment Resort in Sedona, which is known for using Native American practices.
With the assistance of Alisse Ali Joseph and Karen Jarratt Snider from the Department of Applied Indigenous Studies, Comisario Cox was able to create the course and now, she is working with Emily Manone, the general studies program director, to make the class a general studies course.
“This class has been a year and a half in the making,” Comisario Cox said. “The plan now is to work toward an online version of the course that will benefit our online and statewide students.”
This class is the only one of its kind. It will have space for 35 students and is scheduled to start this fall.
Mariana Laas | NAU Communications
(928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu