Indigenous tourism

Be a part of the turning tides.

We recognize the impacts of European settlement and are grateful for the guidance of Indigenous people in learning the truth about our shared past and seeking a better way forward.

When you support Indigenous-owned businesses, you’re taking part in renewed economic wellbeing and encouraging fruitful relationships between nations and people.

For thousands of years, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm(Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh(Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ(Tsleil-Waututh) have lived communally and thrived on the stunning lands now known as Vancouver. This tradition continues today in a city where urban settlement and lush nature coexist within reach. The meaningful connection to territory sustained through the languages, oral histories, and practices of Coast Salish peoples is offered to visitors through revitalizing Indigenous experiences.

Before colonization, the waters that rise, retreat, and flow around Vancouver nourished the local population, invigorated technical innovation, and provided a bustling avenue for trade between nations. The third-largest urban Indigenous population in Canada now lives in Vancouver, weaving diverse cultures and perspectives into the rich cultural fabric of the Indigenous community and its brilliant arts scene.

Visiting the Indigenous art in Vancouver brings you to the centre of a worldview deeply tied to the land.

Indigenous art may be a record of knowledge, a map, or a tool that reflects physical needs and cultural systems. It often communicates values and beliefs communities have developed in harmony with the land.

If you find yourself visiting with an artwork from decades past, you are visiting with the ancestor who made it – and the land that sparked its creation.

The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art is an Indigenous-owned cultural institution that highlights the artistic traditions of the Northwest Coast while celebrating contemporary Indigenous art that offers diverse perspectives, stories, and artistic expressions. This dynamic space rotates exciting Indigenous-curated exhibitions around monumental sculptures by Haida master artist Bill Reid, also showcasing his other works.

Plan your Bill Reid Gallery visit during artist talks, curatorial tours, and hands-on workshops to maximize your experience and engage in another aspect of Indigenous culture – economic – at the gift shop. The Wickaninnish Gallery on Granville Island and the Spirit Gallery in Horseshoe Bay are also First Nations-owned shops selling contemporary and traditional art and gifts by emerging and established Indigenous artists.

The premiere Indigenous arts hotel in the nation offers ethical travellers an innovative and socially conscious to stay in the city and support Indigenous artists. At the boutique Skwachàys Lodge, each vibrant room is expertly designed in collaboration with Indigenous artists.

This unique social enterprise was founded in response to the number of talented Indigenous artists who face economic inequities. Creating art is also considered an act of physical, mental, cultural, spiritual, and social wellness that is part of overall wellness. Booking a room with Skwachàys Lodge directly supports on-site housing and studio space for 24 Indigenous artists so that they may continue to share their gifts.

Indigenous tours welcome visitors to share in Indigenous culture, learn from Indigenous people, and support local communities.

Members of Tsleil-Waututh First Nation share traditional songs, tell stories, and point out Indigenous village sites on the paddles and walks offered through Takaya Tours. Operating from their home territory in North Vancouver, they offer group tours and rent kayaks from Whey-ah-wichen (Cates Park).

If you’re traveling solo or with a smaller group, Talaysay Tours strives to make fun, educational and inspirational storytelling tours accessible. Owned by members of the local Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and neighbouring Shíshálh (Sechelt) Nations, they explain that their art, nature, and storytelling tours share “our hearts, culture, ancestors and descendants.”

Can’t make it to one of the land-based tours taking place in Stanley park and other locations daily? You can still share in generations of oral history and teachings at your own pace via the groundbreaking Talaysay Tours app.

From the rocks to the treetops and the creatures who walk, fly, crawl, and swim, Indigenous worldviews include all elements of territory as land. You’ll find salmon, a cultural symbol and traditional economic staple of the West Coast, in abundance at Salmon n' Bannock Bistro.

The only Indigenous-owned and operated restaurant in the city uses in-season ingredients, organic bison and game, and wild-caught fish to serve up authentic West Coast meals with First Nations influence. Even if you’re not visiting during berry season, take heart – bannock is always in season at this thriving Indigenous business.

Vancouver offers many museums, displays, and exhibitions where locals and visitors are welcome to learn about Indigenous history and how Canada, British Columbia, and Vancouver came to be. Indigenous-owned shops, galleries and experiences open the door to how Indigenous people experience the city’s past, present and future – and you’re invited to walk, paddle, or roll through.