Sustaining spirit: a review and analysis of an urban Indigenous Australian cultural festival
ABSTRACT Indigenous Australian festivals have long been tools for cultural maintenance and revival, cultural sharing and economic opportunity for Indigenous Australian communities. Recent research indicates the multiple benefits festivals may offer to Indigenous Australian communities and their contribution to building a more harmonious Australia, but also notes considerable knowledge gaps. This article reviews and analyses the Spirit Festival, a major annual urban Indigenous festival in Adelaide, Australia. It explores the issues in operationalizing and maintaining the Getz paradigm for responsible and sustainable events in an increasingly neo liberal world. Based on in depth quantitative and qualitative research, it highlights how the transformation of events from tools for community development to tools to attract tourists through event tourism may have serious repercussions for the sustainability of these events and undermine their social and cultural value, particularly for Indigenous stakeholders. Special attention is paid to the tensions between social goals and harsh economic reality, the complex issues surrounding management processes, funding and partnership, the importance for Indigenous peoples of positive visibility and the role of reconciliation that festivals can play. It poses the key question: who and what are Indigenous festivals for a question applicable worldwide and to many forms of Indigenous tourism.