Over 30 people, including local, tribal, and state officials and employees, attended the conference, which broke from its typical format and promoted an exchange of ideas in a group setting.
Linda Turnbull-Lewis, tourism development plan project manager and consultant, led the discussion.
She explained that the goal of the project is to create in an intangible product, which is input into the plan from the public and private sectors of tourism in the 14 counties of the tribe, and then to create a plan. The comprehensive Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism Plan will result from the series of meetings.
"We want to know what you have to say," Turnbull-Lewis said.
The resulting plan will be implemented in phases, beginning next year.
She said the purpose of the meeting was to invite participants to work with the tribe in the process of developing the tribe's tourism plan and to determine how working together can help grow tourism in the state and the Cherokee Nation.
Throughout the planning process, the tribe has identified tourism zones, where everything that is Cherokee tourism in the tribe's 14 counties has been cataloged, Turnbull-Lewis said.
She explained that cultural tourism is based on a mosaic of places, traditions, art forms, celebrations and experiences that portray the tribe and its people, reflecting the diversity of the tribe.
"People don't come to the Cherokee Nation for our hotels or our recreation facilities," Turnbull-Lewis said. "They come for our culture, real or imagined, they come here to see and experience the Cherokee Nation."
The product of cultural tourism is the experience, she noted.
Robert Lewis, a storyteller with the Heritage Center, shared a Cherokee experience by acting out a story with participants.
"Tourism is all about the tourist's experience," Turnbull-Lewis said after Lewis' performance art.
Because of the conference series, Turnbull-Lewis said the tribe is looking at opening a tourism office and beginning a Cherokee Nation Tourism Association. She said they are also in the process of developing a tourism Web site.
"We want to become working partners with the state of Oklahoma," she said.
Throughout the conference series, participants have been asked to answer particular questions pertaining to cultural tourism development.
Those attending the Sallisaw meeting got a preview of what has been discussed in the previous working conferences and what conclusions have been drawn from questions throughout the series. Travis Owens, a Cherokee Nation intern who is studying at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, gave a computerized presentation on the results of some of the past questions and answers.
One of those past questions was posed at a May 15 conference. That task question was: "What are the major issues to be considered to grow cultural tourism?"
Marketing was the number one answer given, and included bringing external and internal awareness of available cultural experiences in the tribe's district, promoting the district as a family destination, and identifying the market.
Other answers included funding, such as finding a budget for the things the tribe wants to do, creating partnerships between tourists and businesses and between the tribe, the state and other tribes.
Focusing on improving infrastructure was another issue that the May 15 group agreed needed to be considered to grow cultural tourism. Infrastructure included improving roads, developing public transportation, being eco-friendly, and tapping into resources.
Turnbull-Lewis said that there is a lot to examine when making tourism plans, including what the roads are like, and how developments will hurt the environment or neighbors.
"You have to look at long-term consequences of the plan," she said.
Part of the process is researching what the state has and what is needed, and then determine if the plans are feasible.
Another question posed in the May 15 conference was: "How can the Cherokee Nation assist in developing tourism?"
The top answer was the development of partnerships, followed by having more working conferences, developing community task forces and a tourism information center, and good communication among those with a common interest.
Turnbull-Lewis suggested that one way to develop partnerships is to partner with the Oklahoma Tourism Centers for a cultural tourism information center.
She said with public and private partnerships they can make Oklahoma the best tourism destination in the country. She noted that the goal can be accomplished by not competing with others, but combining resources and uniting for one purpose.
After the presentation, the group broke up into three subgroups to focus on answering the task question for the Monday conference, which was: "From your experience, what should the Cherokee Nation know about public/private partnerships in tourism development?"
After discussing the question for about 20 minutes, the groups shared their ideas and answers.
Judy Martens, Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce executive vice president, suggested that more information is needed locally about available cultural experiences.
She also suggested that chamber officials in the tribe's district tour what the tribe and others have to offer tourism, such as during the Cherokee National Holiday in Tahlequah, which is held every Labor Day weekend.
Others suggested that more brochures and printed material are needed, as well as outreach internationally through tours of Indian country. Suggestions also included building on partnerships already developed, having better communication, and keeping Web sites current.
The series is expected to be complete next month, with the last conference scheduled.
