American Indian Alaska Native

“Membership classes include the following: --tribal: tribal governments may enact a resolution of support, authorizing membership. Upon payment of dues, each tribe shall designate five (5) individuals as representatives for membership purposes. Each representative shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote, for a total of five votes per tribe. --corporate: corporations (defined as a company regarded by law as a single body with its own powers/liabilities, or local governing authority such as a city or town or a group acting as a single entity) interested in furthering aianta's objectives are eligible to become contributing members. --business/organization: businesses or organizations that are interested in furthering aianta's objectives are eligible to become contributing members. Upon payment of dues, each business/organization shall designate one (1) representative for membership purposes. The designated representative shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote. --individual: any individual may join and participate in all aianta activities. Upon payment of dues, each individual shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote. --senior: any person who is age 55+ may join and participate in all aianta activities. Upon payment of dues, each senior shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote. --student: any person enrolled in a post-secondary education institution is eligible and may participate in all activities. Students may not vote and will not be eligible to be elected to the board of directors. Each eligible class of members shall be entitled to one (1) vote as outlined above on each matter submitted to a vote of the members, unless privileges have been suspended by the board of directors voting on such issue.”

“The governing body is elected by membership or appointed by the board.”

“The board of directors reviews the draft and approves the final form 990 for filing.”

“Each year, in january, all board members and staff are provided aianta's conflict of interest policy and disclosure forms. All board members and staff read, initial, and sign a copy of the policies, complete and sign the disclosure forms, and return within 30 days of receiving the policies.”

“The documents are available to the public upon request during normal business hours.”

“Volunteers assist aianta with tasks associated with conferences and traninigs, including: -- bag stuffing: assist with bag stuffing assuring all materials are facing upwards and in order. -- registration: assist with directing attendees to registration area, badge disbursement and provide general information on the event. -- aianta lounge: fill in for staff during all meal functions. Lounge volunteers set up appointments for nativeamerica.travel when aianta staff are unavailable. Lounge volunteers may also be used as runners and to assist staff with post-show shipping prep and logistics. -- silent auction/gala: assist staff with silent auction set-up, completion of donation forms for any items delivered on-site, adhering to bidding process protocols, and ensuring that all items are accounted for. At the conclusion of the silent auction, volunteers assist with the closing of the auction, completion of forms, maintain order in purchasing lines, and ensure all items are delivered to the correct purchaser. Members of the board of directors serve on a volunteer basis.”

“Partnership development -- aianta's partnership program facilitates strong working relationships between native nations and communities, federal agencies, destination marketing organizations and other non-profit organizations in addressing hospitality-related issues and facilitating networking opportunities among those organizations. The program identifies potential partners with common goals and values that will benefit from the advice and skills of all partners. Aianta works with federal agencies, destination marketing organizations and national non-profit associations to build public awareness of tourism opportunities on tribal and federal lands, which in turn produces economic benefits while providing native nations and communities with opportunities to perpetuate their culture, heritage, language and culinary offerings.”

“Technical assistance and training -- aianta works with the tourism industry, businesses, educational institutions, tribal partners, non- profits, native organizations and state and federal partners to identify and deliver responsive and relevant educational support. Our tailored and partnership-driven technical assistance and training programs are the key to our support of the development, growth and enhancement of indigenous tourism products. Our programming includes the american indigenous tourism conference (aitc); international market readiness training - go international; cultural heritage tourism and sustainable tourism certificate programs; outreach, resources, assessment tools and breaking news; partner-based webinar instruction; internship program and scholarship program. Aianta also provides industry training through participation in their webinars and conferences. These programs provide a critical access point for expanding the indigenous tourism knowledge base and expertise in u.s. Native nations and communities.”

“Tribal relations and outreach -- the tribal relations and outreach program conducts direct outreach to tribes and native-owned businesses to identify capacity and training needs and to increase the content on aianta's consumer website, nativeamerica.travel (consumer-facing destination website dedicated to indigenous tourism) and aianta's proprietary database. The tribal relations and outreach program introduces aianta resources and programs to tribes, native-owned tourism businesses and partners, especially in the areas of planning and funding for cultural tourism development. During interviews, the team gathers information about indigenous tourism attractions and encourages future tourism development. The program cultivates strategic partnerships with an emphasis on establishing/maintaining relationships with indigenous travel, tourism and recreation staff; tourism industry leaders; federal, state and local government agencies; educational institutions; museum professionals; historic preservation officers; artists and entrepreneurs. The nativeamerica.travel website provides inspiration and information to travel trade professionals and individual travelers to assist them in locating authentic cultural heritage and indigenous tourism destinations to explore within native nations and communities. Aianta invites each federally recognized tribe to claim and populate their own page, providing a profile of the history, culture and traditions they wish to share. The site includes a blog to showcase trends or groups of similar destinations. Aianta has increased outreach to native nations and communities to encourage their participation and visitor exploration of indigenous attractions, destinations and experiences. Nativeamerica.travel is evolving into a powerful tool for native nations and communities to promote indigenous tourism regionally, nationally and internationally. Aianta is engaging and training indigenous tourism leaders to use this tool to perpetuate and promote their cultural heritage and economic sustainability.”

“Visitor outreach -- aianta plays a critical role in supporting the national travel and tourism strategy to bring more visitors to the united states, especially in our participation at domestic and international trade shows to promote tourism in native nations and communities. Aianta's visitor outreach program is critical to fulfilling our mission and promise to american indian tribes and native communities. Unique to aianta, we work with native nations and communities throughout the process of preparing for and entering the tourism marketplace. Currently, aianta promotes indigenous destinations to visitor markets at international and domestic travel tradeshows, including ipw (held in rotating u.s. Destinations) and go west. Internationally, aianta attends brand usa's travel week (london, uk). Aianta also creates industry tools like the top 10 indigenous experiences and 15 cultural protocols to know before you visit native homelands in the u.s. Marketing and public relations -- aianta provides outreach and marketing support to expand the impact of indigenous tourism development. In the past year, aianta reached potential travelers domestically and in nearly 50 countries via social media, aianta.org and nativeamerica.travel. Aianta earns millions of media impressions annually and reaches thousands of individuals through e-mail news blasts, weekly and monthly newsletters, and speaking engagements. Aianta's reach is extended through a targeted media relations campaign, with press releases distributed to leading indigenous publications, including native news online, native america calling, cherokee one feather, indianz.com and high country news, to name a few. Additionally, aianta targets leading travel trade (travel agent and tour operator) publications, such as travel weekly, travelage west, travelpulse, wanderlust and skift to name a few. Aianta also communicates with leading consumer travel writers, both freelance and editorial staff to further generate stories for indigenous tourism. Aianta also invites media and the travel trade out to experience indigenous destinations, attractions and events on annual curated fam (familiarization) tours. Community navigator program -- as part of our ongoing mission to support native nations, aianta has launched a program aimed at connecting indigenous communities across the u.s.-particularly those at high risk of wildfires and climate impacts-with federal grant opportunities. This initiative is designed to expand access to the tools and resources necessary to address climate impacts, promote healthy forests and lands, and strengthen the economic foundations of native communities through sustainable recreation and cultural tourism. Through a newly established mentorship program, aianta guides native nations in identifying grant eligibility, navigating application processes, and building the capacity needed for long-term success. By offering workshops and trainings focused on climate resilience and organizational development, the program addresses the persistent barriers many indigenous communities face in accessing federal funding and infrastructure investments. This project reflects aianta's commitment to bridging those gaps while reinforcing tribal sovereignty and empowering native nations to grow resilient, culturally aligned tourism economies rooted in the stewardship of healthy lands and forests.”

“Consulting and professional 243,488 88,898 0 website development 35,659 425 0 total 279,147 89,323 0”