The Glove Box and Tourism

Tourism is a status symbol of wealth. As most working class people don’t really have time off to travel, it is something that is reserved for the rich. Recreation and nature plays a huge role in tourism. In the turn of the twentieth century, many tourist attractions around the Great Lakes region offered a taste of Ojibiwe/Chippewa/Anishanaabe culture. These tourist attractions offered an escape where the tourist could experiance Native culture without leaving the culture of their own (Nesper, 2003). A person could go hunting and fishing while hiring an Indigenous person as a guide. The whole atmosphere of one these tourist destinations was one of "playing Indian" where Native people would get dressed up and preform what it was like to be Indigenious for white people (Nesper,2003). The tourist industry based around Native culture also created a market for souvenirs. This birchbark box is an example of a souvenir that would have been sold around this time period. 

Photo credit- Lynne Swanson