Winnipeg’s Forks district sits at the meeting point of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, a gathering place used for thousands of years before the city grew up around it. Turtle Tours, an Indigenous-led company based there, offers a way to hear that history from the people whose ancestors lived it, rather than as a footnote to a broader Winnipeg itinerary.
Founded by Ashley Smith, a proud Anishinaabe Ikwe with roots across Treaty 1, 2 and 4 territories, Turtle Tours was built specifically to share Indigenous history and culture from an Indigenous perspective. ‘Turtle Tours was born out of a desire to share our history from our perspective through story, place and lived experiences,’ Smith said. ‘These tours aren’t just about learning, they’re about relationships.’
Stories carried through family and place
Smith draws on her own family history in shaping the tours, including the story of her ancestor John ‘The Falcon’ Tanner, who lived among the Anishinaabe and played a role in the 1817 Selkirk Treaty. That thread, and the wider history of Indigenous peoples across Manitoba, runs through the experiences Turtle Tours offers today.
Walking tours at The Forks explore the significance of the river confluence and the Indigenous histories tied to the site, while boat tours trace Winnipeg’s waterways and their long-standing role in movement, gathering and trade for Indigenous communities. A Taste of Survival experience combines Indigenous food with storytelling and cultural knowledge, and museum visits offer Indigenous perspectives on collections held within Winnipeg’s cultural institutions. Turtle Tours also arranges customised partnership tours, pairing its own experiences with other cultural, land and water-based activities. Tours are available for solo travellers as well as small and large groups.
Beyond Winnipeg
Smith’s work extends past the city. She also founded Turtle Village, the first Indigenous tourism destination in Riding Mountain National Park, and serves as CEO of Grass Grows Rivers Flow, a nonprofit supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs, culture and land-based learning through tourism.
For travellers to Manitoba, Turtle Tours offers a chance to engage with a living culture rather than a historical exhibit, guided by people telling their own stories on their own land.
