Spas in Indian Country

The Spa at Salish Lodge
photo from www.salishlodge.com

This month's issue of Native Peoples Magazine has a cover story, "Natural Beauty: Health, wellness and beauty secrets from Indigenous peoples," on Native-owned spas and traditional health and beauty treatments. It's an important topic because, as with cultural appropriations in the fashion industry, the health and wellness industry is also rife with New Age-y rip offs of Native spirituality and traditional medicine.

Here's a compiled list of the businesses mentioned in both the NPM cover article and an Indian Country Today article from last year, "5 Spas in Indian Country Using Luxury Accommodations and Native-Based Treatments."

I have also previously done a post here about the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's Spa at Norwich Inn in Norwich, CT.

The Spa at Talking Stick Resort
(Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community)
Scottsdale, AZ

Aji Spa at Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino
(Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community)
Chandler, AZ

Salish Lodge and Spa
(Muckleshoot Tribe)
Snoqualmie, WA

Travaasa Hana
(Hawai'ian)
Hana (Maui), HI

The Skʌ:nʌ́: Spa and Ahsi Day Spa at Turning Stone Resort and Casino
(Oneida Nation)
Verona, NY

Spa Ssakwa'q'n at Coeur d'Alene Resort
(Coeur d'Alene)
Coeur d'Alene, ID

Tamaya Resort and Spa
(Pueblo)
Santa Ana Pueblo, NM

Besides spa facilities, there are also Native-owned health and beauty supplies retailers. One example that I know of is ArXotica, Inc. in Bethel, AK. Three sisters from the Quissunamiut Tribe make bath and beauty products from hand-gathered ingredients from their arctic tundra environment in Alaska.

Another botanical products shop is Laughing Berry Botanicals of Metlakatla, AK. They make health and skincare products from the locally harvested devils club plant and black seaweed. The Shearers, the husband and wife team who own Laughing Berry Botanicals and make all the products, also own Laughing Berry Gifts and a tour company that focuses on Tsimshian culture and history around Metlakatla.

And again, from an article from last year in Indian Country Today, "All-Natural Beauty: 7 Indigenous-owned Skincare and Cosmetic Lines You'll Love," here's their list of Native-owned health and skincare companies:

Native Touch (Andrews, NC)
Sister Sky (Spokane, WA)
Medicine of the People (Tucson, AZ)
Native Naturals (Norman, OK)
Native Wisdom (Chicago, IL)
Mother Earth Essentials (Alberta, Canada)
Kamamak Cosmetics (British Columbia, Canada)

I'll continue to update this list as I find more resources!

Ganondagan, Seneca Art and Culture Center, and the Iroquois White Corn Project

Bark Longhouse

Name: Ganondagan State Historic Site, Seneca Art and Culture Center, and Iroquois White Corn Project
Tribe: Seneca, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy
Location: 1488 State Route 44, Victor, New York, 14564 (near Rochester)
Type: Cultural heritage, art, and event center (SACC), historic site and hiking trails (Ganondagan), food sovereignty project (IWCP)
Visiting Info: Ganondagan - May 1 through October 31 (closed Mondays and some Sundays), trails open year round, admission $2-$3;
The Seneca Art and Culture Center - due to open July 2015;
The Iroquois White Corn Project - retail at various locations and online and volunteer opportunities
Contact: Ganondagan - Website, telephone 585-924-5848; Iroquois White Corn Project - Website, telephone 585-742-1361 or email whitecornproject@gmail.com to volunteer.

Ganondagan is the re-creation of a 300-year-old Seneca town in upstate New York. Admission includes access to the Visitor Center, a replica 17th-century bark longhouse, and three guided hiking trails. Group tours are available for a fee, but self-guided trail hikes are free year-round. The Granary Trail leads up to the Fort Hill mesa where the settlement's protected granary and fort once stood. Illustrated signs along the way tell the story of the day in July 1687 when the French Canadian Governor General Marquis de Denonville's campaign destroyed the original town. An exhibit by Seneca artist Carson Waterman and a video program are located in the Visitor Center. The Friends of Ganondagan also host a summer day camp for high school students focused on conservation issues.

A new 17,300 sq.-ft. Seneca Art and Culture Center is scheduled to open in October of 2015. It will include a gift shop, outdoor exhibit space and gardens, and gallery space offering changing exhibits on Seneca art, history, and culture. There will also be performance and event space, including a catering kitchen, with plans for year-round cultural and community events.

The Iroquois White Corn Project, located nearby on County Road 41 at the Ganondagan State Historic Site Farmhouse, describes itself as a "non-profit, 'agri-cultural' business." The Project grows, processes, and sells the heirloom white corn, as well as creates educational programs to promote its continued production and consumption. They use and teach traditional methods for planting, growing, and processing the corn as a cultural preservation effort, and they accept volunteers at every step of the process from fields to sales.You can buy Iroquois white corn products and merchandise at Ganondagan or online. Their website also lists stores, restaurants, and distributors in New York that sell or use their corn and flour.



Resources:
The Seneca Nation of Indians
Seneca Nation of Indians Tourism
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy
About "Food Sovereignty" at Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance