Challenging settler colonialism in Appalachian heritage Tourism

Appalachia is a region of the United States in the midst of an economic transition away from extractive industries. Heritage tourism has been suggested as an alternative economic development strategy for Appalachia, but there is a need for more critical research exploring how heritage tourism can reinforce inequitable power structures like settler colonialism. Berea, KY was selected as a research site because of its long history as a tourism destination for Appalachian arts and crafts and its potential for diverse heritage discourses. Authorized heritage discourses in Berea were shown to reinforce settler colonial discourses like the reinforcement of the heteropatriarchy and the erasure of Black and Indigenous Appalachians, resulting in the elevation of white, settler heroes. However, there was evidence that multivocal heritage management practices could resist settler colonial discourses. Interviews with community residents revealed that settler colonialism and its attendant structures of heteropatriarchy, capitalism, and white supremacy negatively impacted heritage tourism development. The authorized heritage discourses and lived experiences of community members revealed the deep entanglement and pervasiveness of settler colonial structures and discourses. Settler colonialism is often reinforced through heritage tourism discourses and development, but an unsettled heritage tourism praxis could use heritage tourism discourse to resist settler colonialism. Heritage tourism could be conceptualized as an unsettling force through multivocal heritage practices, the elevation of marginalized voices, and the return of control and autonomy to Indigenous communities.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Recreation, Sport, and Tourism

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Moran, Casey Dakota

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stewart, William
• Santos, Carla
• Soulard, Joelle
• Kashani, Maryam

• Settler Colonialism
• Heritage Tourism
• Tourism
• Appalachia
• Gender

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Casey Moran

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130143

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F130143