Challenging settler colonialism in Appalachian heritage Tourism

Moran, Casey Dakota

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

Description

Title

Challenging settler colonialism in Appalachian heritage Tourism

Author(s)

Moran, Casey Dakota

Issue Date

2025-07-08

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Stewart, William

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Stewart, William

Committee Member(s)

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

Department of Study

Recreation, Sport and Tourism

Discipline

Recreation, Sport, and Tourism

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• settler colonialism
• heritage tourism
• tourism
• appalachia
• gender

Abstract

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.

Graduation Semester

2025-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

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

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Casey Moran

Owning Collections