The Pennsylvania Tourism Office has been awarded an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Area planning grant to develop experiences based on indigenous heritage in the commonwealth.

The tourism office will utilize the grant to develop and promote experiences that share stories, the history and culture of indigenous people from Pennsylvania.

"This project will have so many benefits, from educating visitors from near and far about our Indigenous history to strengthening the economies of ARC counties. said Carrie Fischer Lepore, deputy secretary of tourism at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. "Most importantly, this project is designed to allow citizens of the federally recognized Indian nations which originated here to be the storytellers and ensure we are presenting their history and culture in an authentic and appropriate way."

This will be done through a partnership with the Lehigh University Institute for Indigenous Studies and members of federally recognized tribal nations.

The ARC Area Grant provides funding for the Tourism Office to convene with American Indian Studies scholars and tribal representatives chosen by federally recognized indigenous nations. Together, the groups will develop a plan to highlight locations, narratives and resources of interest to uplift the culture and history, according to a news release from the Shapiro Administration.

The final plan would then be executed into experiences for visitor engagement during additional phases of this project.