There are many ways to travel among the native cultures of the world. Numerous organizations, including tour operators, conservation groups, and lodge owners, do an outstanding job of facilitating access for visitors interested in remote societies. But the travel experiences highlighted here—chosen after consulting with a range of experts in anthropology, native rights, community development, and ecotourism—are all ones in which the people themselves are stakeholders, determining for themselves how they wish to share their culture with others. Their approaches to integrating travelers into their communities are as diverse as the cultures themselves.

Canada

THE INUIT
Among the most widely dispersed people in the world, the Inuit live in Arctic communities from Alaska to Greenland. Hunters and fishermen who believe in the souls of all creatures, the Inuit obey customs and perform rituals to propitiate the spirits of the seals, walruses, caribou, and polar bears that sustain them in a harsh environment.

In Nunavut, 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Mountie Glenn Warner and his wife, Trish, established the Bathurst Inlet Lodge in 1969; since 1984, it has been jointly owned with the Inuit families of the inlet. Visitors hike with local guides, learn about Inuit clothing and tools, and float along the inlet on the 40-foot Blue Loo pontoon, spotting Arctic wildlife (867-873-2595; six-night packages, $4,200 per person).

Makivik Corporation, the legal representative of Quebec's Inuit, owns Cruise North Expeditions, which made Condé Nast Traveler's Green List (September 2006). An eight-day trip to Canada's extreme north aboard the 122-passenger Lyubov Orlova includes kayaking, polar bear and whale sighting, and archaeological site visits. Community leaders vet all expeditions to mitigate adverse effects to their people and environment (866-263-3220; cruisenorthexpeditions.com; Arctic Odyssey, $5,195–$7,695 per person).

China

THE NAXI
In the Himalayan foothills of Yunnan, the Naxi are farmers and livestock breeders known for their hospitality. Once a matriarchal society, the Naxi have adapted their social relations to the dominant Han Chinese culture. Some of the customs continue in remote villages—adults live in their mother's house, and a man visits his azhu, or friend, at night.

A traditional farm, Wenhai Ecolodge is owned by its namesake village in partnership with the local government, an area nature reserve, and the Nature Conservancy. The lodge employs members of the community, some in the kitchen and dining area to provide meals (yak butter tea in the morning; chicken, vegetables, and rice or Tibetan noodles in the evening). Itineraries include treks through the valley, which is at 9,800 feet and is inaccessible except by hiking or on horseback (86-888-519-0272; northwestyunnan.com; doubles, $36).

Ecuador

THE ACHUAR
The belief that everything in nature has a soul informs the philosophy behind the Achuar's earth-friendly accommodations—and provides a spiritual reason for protecting their rain forest home from oil companies trying to drill there. While Achuar men hunt, women tend their gardens and sing to their plants. So important are these gardens that women go there for privacy—to grieve (public emotion being frowned upon) and to give birth.

In 1996, ecotourism company Canodros launched Kapawi Ecolodge, and last January the Achuar assumed ownership. The lagoonside location is ideal for canoe and fishing excursions and daylong walks to spot the more than 500 bird varieties in this biodiverse area (593-2-600-9333; kapawi.com; doubles, $1,340 for three nights, all-inclusive).

THE COFÁN
Long isolated in the forests of northeastern Ecuador and Colombia, the Cofán—hunters and traders known for their knowledge of medicinal botany, jewelry and other adornments—have lost much of their land to oil companies, farmers, and ranchers. In Ecuador, Cofán have settled in several villages, where they practice subsistence hunting and farming. They started to develop cultural ecotourism in the late 1970s, but their location at the fringes of the territory affected by Colombia's civil war long discouraged travel to the region. In Zabalo, a village of about 200, residents have built guest cabins for up to 16 visitors. Among the activities are trekking the jungles of the Cuyabeno Nature Reserve, canoeing and fishing, and studying the biodiversity of the rain forest, which includes more than 550 species of birds and thousands of plants. With the help of the Cofán Survival Fund, the people also work building canoes, making crafts, and contributing to biological conservation efforts (593-2-247-0946; cofan.org; doubles, $95 per person, all-inclusive, with a four-person minimum).

THE QUICHUA
The Quichua of Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru—the largest surviving Native American society—are two million strong. These farmers cultivate potatoes, corn, and quinoa and worship the sun. Though the widely spoken Quichua language has been written in the Roman alphabet since the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Peru, words and numbers were earlier recorded in elaborate knotted, colored threads called quipu—still a practice in some areas to commemorate marriages and deaths.

In Ecuador's Yasuní National Park, the Añangu Quichua community owns and operates the Napo Wildlife Center, with ten rustic, grass-roofed, lakefront cabanas and two towering shelters for viewing flocks of parrots and macaws (593-2-600-5819; napowildlifecenter.com; doubles, $720 for three nights, all-inclusive).

India

THE HALEPOTRA AND THE MEGHWAL
In India's far western district of Kutch, Hodka is the harmonious settlement of the Muslim Halepotra and the Hindu Meghwals. Wholly owned and operated by the community, Shaam-e-Sarhad can accommodate up to 26 people in tents or bhungas (circular mud huts). Activities include leather and embroidery workshops, camelback safaris, visits to the local Than monastery, and day-trips to Dholavira, India's largest archaeological site (91-94269-68790; hodka.in/shaam.htm; doubles, $41–$66).

Laos

THE AKHA
Launched in 1999, the Nam Ha Ecotourism Project aims to alleviate the poverty of more than 20 ethnic peoples living in the Nam Ha National Protected Area, a forest preserve in the northern province of Luang Namtha. In addition to the Akha, Hmong, Lao, and others are participating. The project trains and employs guides and funnels profits from tourism back to the communities.

Travelers interested in guided treks from village to village within the preserve depart from Luang Namtha town, where it is easy to make arrangements with local operators. Activities include not only excursions led by Lao guides but boat trips on the Namtha River and cave explorations (tours, $50–$120 per person, per day). The Boat Landing Guest House, which has riverside bungalows with verandas in an acacia grove, is owned by one of the ecotourism project's guides (856-86-312-398; theboatlanding.com; doubles, $35–$40).

Panama

THE KUNA
Unlike many native peoples in Central and South America, the Kuna control their homeland—Kuna Yala, which includes the San Blas Archipelago. Kuna women are known for their beaded leggings and their signature molas, intricate appliquéd blouses. The mola can be traced to Kuna women's geometric body painting; with the arrival of European settlers, the designs transferred onto cloth.

Sapibenega, a small island with a white-sand beach, has 13 simple cabins with wooden floors, bamboo walls and shutters, solar electricity, and compost toilets (507-215-3724; sapibenega.com; doubles, $280–$320).

South Africa

THE MAKULEKE
The Makuleke lease their land—nearly 60,000 acres at the northernmost corner of Kruger National Park—to two luxury lodges. Guests at Pafuri Camp stay in one of 20 tented rooms joined by elevated walkways that allow animals free access to the Luvuvhu River (27-11-257-5111; pafuri.com; doubles, $472). The Outpost's 12 hilltop suites have remote-control screens that can be retracted to provide a full view of animals at the river (27-11-245-5704; theoutpost.co.za; doubles, $568–$758).

Eight miles outside the park gates is the Makuleke Community Centre and Homestay. Six thatched huts are available, and guests dine on meals prepared by local chefs (27-79-151-7127; doubles, $33).

Sweden

THE SAMI
Native to the northern reaches of Scandinavia and Russia, the Sami have herded reindeer for 2,500 years. Today, ten percent of the estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Sami are still nomads, following reindeer through the tundra in winter and through the marshlands in summer. Sami are also known for handicrafts called duodji. Ranging from antler-handle knives to embroidered coats, these pieces are valued for their practicality and their beauty.

Sami-owned Pathfinder Lapland, in Gällivare, Sweden, leads reindeer-centered excursions north of the Arctic Circle: sledding in winter, herding during the spring migration, hiking with pack-carrying deer in summer (46-70-688-15-77; six-day sledding trip, $1,928 per person).

Venezuela

THE PEMÓN
The Pemón of the village of Paraitepuy del Roraima live by one of Venezuela's greatest attractions: Roraima, the tallest tepui, or table mountain, in Canaima National Park. They have organized themselves into a cooperative that provides hikers with guides and porters for the four- or five-day climb. From the airport in Santa Elena de Uairen, there's a bus to San Francisco de Yurani; it's several hours' hike or a cab ride from there to Paraitepuy. El capitán, the head of the village, will make arrangements ($25–$40 per day).

To organize a trip with more support, ornithologist David Ascanio has been running natural history and birding excursions up Roraima for 24 years. His company, Ascanio Birding Tours, employs Pemón porters, field assistants, and nature interpreters, and donates at least 20 percent of profits to research and community projects (58-212-2424949; ten-day tepui trek, $3,000 per person).

Reading and Resources

Both the Good Alternative Travel Guide, by Mark Mann (Earthscan, $29), and aboriginal-ecotourism.org explore travel experiences developed by native peoples.