The tribes are one of the main tourist attractions in the north of Thailand. It has been said that the lowland belongs to the Thais, but the mountains belong to the tribes. This is less true than it was, and would be a strange thing for the mountain peoples to think, since in their cultures they do not traditionally believe in land ownership - this is a new idea to them. However, as with Europeans, many of the hilltribe cultures have a common root, so we can generalize to some extent. However, we can admire many more things in them, such as their spirituality, holistic medicines, and tolerance.
Some tourists feel awkward visiting hilltribe villages.
This is a very natural sensitivity, but is largely misplaced. Despite the great cultural differences, remember that the tribes are ordinary human beings. There are good and bad, rich and poor, clever and stupid, honest and dishonest. They worry about their children, whether they have enough food and money to survive. They laugh, tell jokes, cry, exult, despair, fall in love, marry, have children and die, as do the majority of human beings anywhere.