North Dakota tribes become a model for promoting Native tourism

HANKINSON, N.D. — North Dakota tribes say their first-in-the-nation effort to band together to promote tourism is paying off.

“We want to tell our stories with our voices,” said Stacey LaCompte, director of the North Dakota Native Tourism Alliance.

She said the group has had success catering to tour groups from Europe. She said the European groups are often in North Dakota for about three weeks and are interested in visiting all five tribal nations that share geography with North Dakota. They often want to take in South Dakota sites, too, she said.

“They’re paying for the tour. They’re paying for the hotels, the gas, the food,” LaCompte said. “They’re buying souvenirs. They’re buying from our artisans.”

LaCompte and others from the tourism group briefed North Dakota lawmakers on their