Settler Colonialism in Authorized Heritage Discourses

For tourism to be a force of social good, we must first contend with how tourism can contribute to dominating structures. This research explores settler colonial themes found in authorized heritage discourses in Berea, KY using multivocality as an analytical framework. Critical Discourse Analysis was used to better understand how authorized heritage discourses reinforce or resist settler colonial discourses. Three key themes of settler colonialism in Appalachia were reinforced, often through the absence of opposing discourse: the erasure of Black and Indigenous people, the heteropatriarchy, and the valorization of settler heroes. Researchers should connect absences with structures of domination and develop heritage management strategies emphasizing marginalized discourses. Multivocal heritage discourses resisted settler colonialism, indicating that multivocal heritage management may resist structures of domination. Heritage tourism can be a site where settler colonial themes are resisted, but practitioners and researchers must work intentionally to ensure marginalized communities are not harmed.