Below are a handful of the journeys— academic, personal and professional— that have shaped Bobbie’s approach to work and life-long learning.
Bobbie is extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work, study and collaborate across diverse communities and environments around the globe. None of these experiences would have been possible without the support of several extraordinary organizations, scholarships, foundations and groups of people. These organizations continue to do wonderful work and Bobbie aims to be a supporter of these opportunities and anyone interested in applying for them.
Postdoc Roads in Canada, Year 1: 2023-2024
Grateful to have been supported by a SSHRC grant (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council/Canada), the first year of Bobbie’s Postdoctoral assignment has enabled her continued research in Indigenous-led tourism. In this first year, Bobbie has been able to complete a community-based book on Indian City, several articles and book chapters, as well as a collaborative research/industry white paper on climate justice in the tourism industry (see Writing above).
Arriving to Toronto in the afternoon
Toronto by evening...
Wonderful classmate reunions... and getting introduced to Canada's famous Tim Hortons!
Visiting the Indigenous-led garden with Traditional Owners and classmates at Waterloo.
A huge tomato!
Some very powerful Anishinaabe art in the Toronto train station by artist Blake Angeconeb.
"We are still here" by Blake A.
"A Child's Imagination" by Blake A.
"Sharing" by Blake A.
Arriving to Tiohtia:ke (Montreal)...
Welcome gate at Montreal's Chinatown
The presence of First Nations in urban spaces...
First time to deliver a keynote courtesy of Critical Tourism Studies 2023!
Representation from the many corners of the globe at the Critical Tourism Studies Conference.
The Biosphere was the memorable setting for our final conference gathering and meal.
Arriving to Treaty 1 Territory, that includes the city of Winnipeg, for the conference at UManitoba.
Learning about Winnipeg's history and Fort Garry.
Being tempted by bannock bread and fry bread at the awesome Indigenous restaurant called Feast...
First Nations Canadian comedy at its best at the Yuk Yuk's Club
First glimpse of the powerful Niagara Falls
No better way to explore these Falls than with UWaterloo colleagues, including a specialist on the Falls!
Haudenosaunee language greetings at the entrance of the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario.
Map of the locations of residential/boarding schools across Canada.
"Save the evidence": Woodland Cultural Centre's historical photograph of students at the Mohawk Institute.
The Mohawk Institute, a boarding school that is being preserved and renovated to tell the stories of the communities who were impacted by this school's presence over decades.
A final night with fellow Recreation and Leisure studies scholars.
The PhD Journey…
Bobbie commenced her PhD studies in 2018 at Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame Australia. Based primarily in the Western Australian Kimberley region, Bobbie completed this project in close collaboration with Karajarri Traditional Owners, as well as other Indigenous communities across Australia and Oklahoma. Grateful to have been supported by the Australian Government’s RTP scholarship, as well as the WA Government’s JTSI Fund and Graduate Women WA, this research journey crossed international borders and navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bobbie continues to maintain strong ties with communities in the Kimberley and remains an Adjunct Research Fellow at Nulungu Research Institute.
Getting the dragon ready for Shinju Matsuri festival
Bart Pigram giving a tour on Yawuru Country
Patiently brushing away the sand to find...
Dinosaur prints across the coast
Pindan road to Karajarri Country
Wynston Shovellor welcoming visitors onto Karajarri Country
The scenic overlook at Mirtanymartaji, or Gourdon Bay
Gathering bush medicines with the Shovellor family
The treasure of bush honey, or sugar bag, was found!
Pushing cars out of the sandy bogs...
Anniversary celebration at Beagle Bay Church on the Dampier Peninsula
Nyul Nyul Traditional Owners beginning the anniversary celebrations with a procession
The well-loved water hole at Ngumpan community
Frybread does exist in Australia
Dances at Ngupan during the Kimberley Land Council's 40th anniversary celebration
Turtle tracks in the sand at 80 Mile Beach
Bardi Jaawi Seasonal Calendar
Turtle friend on Bardi Country
The blues of Bardi Country are off the color charts
Sunset view with Bardi hosts out on Country
After flying across the world for 24+ hours, I couldn't be luckier to have these beautiful faces greet me on Noongar Country.
I was honored to take part in a 'Language Party' event hosted at Nyamba Buru Yawuru that brought together speakers/learners of Indigenous and traditional languages. For more information on Language Parties, click on the picture.
That night we had Yawuru, Maori, Walmajarri, Hokkien and Cherokee represented.
Yawuru storytellers on Yawuru Country.
Walmajarri language storytelling even involved puppets!
The Language Party-- a beautiful concept that allows listeners to hear a story told in an Indigenous/traditional language without simultaneous English language interpreting/translating. This helps to empower languages that have been marginalized and allows audiences to appreciate the beauty of a language.
Telling a Cherokee story on Yawuru Country. Click on the image to hear the story!
Enjoying time with friends and mentors after graduation ceremony.
Important parts of the team that helped to make this PhD degree possible.
AIANTA :Mentorship & Opportunities
Over the years, AIANTA has provided important support and guidance in how to engage with cultural tourism across Native America, including at home in Oklahoma. Thanks to the support of an AIANTA Scholarship, I was able to complete my Masters in Arts & Culture Administration through Drexel University’s online gradate program.
Very grateful for AIANTA's support in my own graduate learning journey.
Joining an AIANTA pre-conference tour in 2013 to the Cherokee Heritage Center and being a tourist in my own homeland.
Learning about baskets and other Cherokee cultural items at the Diligwa historic village.
Being welcomed to Tvsle (Tulsa, Oklahoma) by Mvskoke royalty in 2019 during the pre-conference tour.
Learning the story of Tvsle's loved Council Oak tree.
A helpful map of the Tribal Towns across the Mvskoke Creek reservation in the Okmulgee Council House.
Learning the basics of Creek basket weaving with fellow AIANTA attendees from across Indian Country.
Presenting about my studies at the 2021 conference in Fort McDowell, Arizona.
A visit with AIANTA participants out to the Montezuma Castle National Monument.
Accompanying our Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation host out to see important cultural landscapes.
The final evening of celebration and fundraising at the conference celebration on Yavapai lands.
Touring the recently opened First Americans Museum (FAM) in Oklahoma City with fellow AIANTA colleagues.
A visit to the newly opened Choctaw Cultural Center ahead of AIANTA's conference on Choctaw Country.
Standing with AIANTA CEO Sherry Rupert and other colleagues on stage at the 2023 conference in Durant, Oklahoma.
I was invited to participate in a panel discussion about Indigenous tourism outside of the US, including in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Our panel also featured important voices and perspectives from First Nations in Canada.
From 2014-2015, Bobbie was a Class XII Peace Fellow at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia where she studied for a Masters in International Studies, Peace and Conflict Resolution. This opportunity was supported by the Rotary Peace Fellowship, a program of Rotary International. Rotary has peace centers at different universities across the world.
Class XII Peace Fellows with Aunty Jeanette Fabila and Aunty Flo Watson
Indigenous Queenslanders performing an Acknowledgement of Country at Maroochydore near the Sunshine Coast
Helping at the 'sausage sizzle'- the classic Aussie fundraiser!
Peace Fellows at the local Rotary sausage sizzle fundraiser
The view towards the Australian War Memorial and acknowledgment of Indigenous sovereignty near the Tent Embassy
Peace Fellows from across classes and countries at the Rotary Peace Seminar, March 2015
Classic kangaroo and emu seal sitting atop Australian Parliament
Lifelong friendships that started in Brisbane
Teaching a class of talented students through NEED School in Burma as part of the Program's Applied Field Experience
First time using a sickle in the rice fields
Spending time with incredibly intelligent students from all over Burma
On a fieldtrip with students from NEED school outside of Yangon, Burma
Fulbright: Cambodia
From 2009-2011, Bobbie had the opportunity to work, live and learn in Cambodia under the support of a Fulbright Scholarship. Hosted primarily by the local non-profit organization, Cambodian Living Arts, Bobbie’s work focused on supporting and learning about the revitalization of traditional Cambodian arts and the role of arts in cultural tourism. Other organizations doing important work in the area of arts and youth that Bobbie crossed paths with included: Tiny Toones and Apsara Arts Association.
Robam Trot, the Cambodian dance performed during the Khmer New Year to bring blessings and ward off evil spirits
Honoring monks with food offerings
A field ready to be replinished by rains
Preparing for Sampeah Kru, the ceremony honoring master teachers of the arts
Majestic faces of Bayon temple
Colonial architecture in Phnom Penh
Lifelong friendships formed through dance
Independence Monument against monsoon skies
Large Cambodian shadow puppet performance by firelight at Wat Bo
Faces at the Royal Palace
Fulbright Scholar gathering in Manila, Philippines
Cambodian pinpeat musical orchestra
A student guided by Lok Yey, a senior Cambodian dancer who grew up and danced in the Royal Palace
Creating small shadow puppets from leather
Right after the afternoon monsoon rains...
Dancing Robam Ploy Suoy, a peacock dance shared from the Suoy Indigenous community
The most incredible friendships that start from Khmer language learning.
Helping with English-Khmer interpreting for dance scholar Shreya Nagarajan who helped bring bharatanatyam dance alive to CLA dance students.
The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) provided an important two year training ground for research and learning during Bobbie’s education at Washington University in St. Louis. With support from MMUF, Bobbie was able to work with ethnic Naxi community members in Yunnan province, southwestern China between 2006-2008 to research the impacts of cultural tourism on Dongba cultural traditions. While based with the Dongba Culture Research Center in the town of Lijiang, Bobbie was also able to assist the Center with Chinese-English translating/interpretating and making presentations to visiting tourists. For a link to the article produced from this undergraduate research in Yunnan, click here (pgs. 75-88).
Looking out to the old town section of Lijiang.
Women belonging to the ethnic Naxi community wear regalia that is especially intricate and beautiful on the backside.
Standing at the front of my host organization, the Dongba Culture Research Institute.
Interviewing a Dongba cultural practitioner and listening to his perspectives on Naxi culture.
Hearing from another Naxi cultural practitioner about how he interacts with tourists.
Young Naxi students performing a traditional dance.
A young Naxi student practicing traditional Dongba script writing.
A Buddhist stupa in the midst of cornfields.
Visitors leave their messages and wishes in Lijiang.
In 2007, Bobbie was selected to join the first cohort of students from Washington University in St. Louis to be part of the Anthropology Department’s Village India Program. An initiative hosted by the Rural Development Foundation and based in the South Indian village of Kalleda (Telangana), our group had the opportunity to teach summer courses to high school students and engage in supervised research with Dr. Glenn Stone, program director.
One of the most rewarding periods of teaching in my life-- incredibly bright students in the village of Kalleda.
Beautiful Telugu script on the map of India.
Talking with program leader, Dr. Glenn Stone, and students.
The entryway to every school building has clusters of shoes.
The first WashU group team of the Village India Program.
Snack time for the school monkey.
The kitchen with head school cook, Ailu, became my favorite place on campus. I'm grateful for my first Indian cooking lessons there.
Water buffalo herd coming back in the afternoon.
Out on a fieldtrip with my wonderful students.
Local couple from the Adivasi Indigenous community kindly pose for a photo.
I taught a social studies high school class that engaged students in dialogue about politics, culture and religions across India and the US.
Charminar monument at the heart of the city of Hyderabad.
Celebration and silliness on the final day of summer classes.
WashU in St. Louis:
My undergraduate education at Washington University in St. Louis was made possible with the generosity of the Annika Rodriguez Scholarship Program from 2005-2009. The support offered by this program was much more than an educational scholarship— the AR scholars program provided a strong community of like-minded students who similarly valued service, cultural diversity and learning. I am also particularly indebted to the support of the AR Scholars in supporting my study abroad through the SIT: Himalayan Studies program in India and Bhutan in Spring 2008.
The journey to Cahokia Mounds that started everything-- and that stands as the real show-stopper of the St. Louis greater area! Thankful to the Tulsa Indian Education program for taking a busload of us high school kids up to St. Louis/WashU and showing us what a wonderful community it could be for students!
My WashU journey was deeply tied to learning more about Puerto Rico and Cuba-- and their wonderful interconnections.
Looking forward to the Carnival production each year was a tradition, as was learning new Latin dances. In 2006, I was taught the basics of Cumbia from Colombia.
Visits to the St. Louis zoo were a favorite of mine.
In the summer of 2006, I was supported by the East Asian Department's VEAP program to complete a summer internship. This program sent me to the Tibetan communities of Zhongdian, China and the Naxi communities of Lijiang, China.
Arriving to my host organization in Lijiang, China where I assisted with language interpreting as a summer intern.
Enjoying a meal with my colleagues in Lijiang and joining the organization director for a toast.
Learning from my colleagues about special Naxi and Yunnan delicacies.
Together with other colleagues from WashU, we were able to attend, listen and learn from the first language summit among L/D/Nakota Nations in Rapid City, SD.
With SIT study abroad in 2008, I had the honor to visit the Kingdom of Bhutan, including its unforgettable cultural and religious icons.
School Year Abroad: China
From 2004-2005, Bobbie completed a year of intensive Chinese language study in Beijing, China. Supported by a full scholarship through School Year Abroad (SYA), Bobbie joined a cohort of other students at Beijing Normal High School No. 2 and lived with a local host family.
Mandatory group exercises are the way that many school days begin in Beijing.
First visit to the Forbidden City at the heart of Beijing.
The calligraphy instructor wants me to guess who he has drawn on the board...
With wonderfully kind hosts in rural Jiangxi province.
"Traffic rules are your life's friend"
Animals made from hot, blown sugar are sold on the ice during the winter afternoons.
First glimpse of the ancient and impressive terracotta soldiers of Xi'an, China.
Consider yourself warned...
Traditional Hakka round home architecture in Fujian province.
Water-based calligraphy draws crowds of onlookers in the park.
Standing at the toes of the Le Shan Giant Buddha statue of Sichuan province.
All of the incense thrown and used at the temple on the first morning of Lunar New Year.
The long process of making silk starts from the silkworms.
Intricate Chinese embroidery using silk threads.
A first visit to the Great Wall
The charm and beauty of Suzhou's canals.
The colors of the nine dragon wall in Beihai Park in Beijing.
American Field Service: Bolivia
The very best host family a student could ever ask for...
With my host sisters and host mom.
Seeing llamas at Lake Titicaca
The incredible sights of Tiwanaku, including elaborate stone structures.
The diversity of Bolivia's Indigenous and folk dance traditions is astounding. Not to mention the full costumes and hats!
A serene day at Lake Titicaca.
Chatting with my host grandmother at her storefront not far from home.
Valle de la Luna right in the capital, La Paz.
Mount Illimani is a powerful backdrop to most vantage points in La Paz.
Just watching the Tinku dance practice at this altitude leaves me breathless!
Potosi's famed 'Cerro Rico': the mountain that eats men.
The mine tour that started it all and that I will never forget.
In front of Casa de la Moneda in Potosi, the mint that turned Potosi's natural riches into the wealth of the Spanish Empire.
A dream came true-- reuniting with my Bolivian host family after 21 years and getting to meet new nieces and nephews.
My host sister Ximena, a woman and mother of incredible strength, wisdom and compassion.
Getting to know the new 'teleferico' system of La Paz and loving the vistas.
We exist because we resist!
One of the most special reunions ever.
Celebrating my host sister Daniela's graduation with cinnamon sorbet treats!