Real Talk with Jenna Bower
Every now and then you meet someone who is so full of drive and passion, you can’t help but feel inspired. Jenna Bower is one of those people, fueled by a passion for language, culture and community. With nearly 14 years of experience in the tourism industry, Jenna currently serves as the Manager & Cultural Coordinator of the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre. She is also a Certified Trainer with Indigenous Tourism BC and an accidental published author. She took time out of peak season chaos, to share her words of wisdom and motivational journey.
WHAT OR WHO HELPED INSPIRE YOU TO CHOOSE TOURISM AS A CAREER PATH?
I was always surrounded by tourism. My father Chris Bower, he was the Business Development Officer for the Osoyoos Indian Band and used to manage the Nk’Mip Campground and RV Park, we would live at the campground for the summer every year and my dad used to let me go with him on the golf cart while he drove around working. I remember thinking he had the best job and I wanted to be just like him. As I grew older the desire to work in tourism went away and I went off to the University of Calgary where my initial major was Law and Society. I was taking a few Indigenous studies classes as electives and they quickly became my favourite classes. I switched my major to International Indigenous Studies and made Law and Society my minor. For the summer break I would come home and work at the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre as an Interpreter. The semester before my final year of school my older sister told me about a 4 year nsyilxcn language fluency program in our community at the OIB language house. I decided to take summer and spring classes to expedite my graduation so I could graduate that upcoming December.
YOU CARVED OUT YOUR OWN CAREER PATH AFTER RETURNING TO THE OKANAGAN, TELL US ABOUT THAT.
When I returned home I needed to find somewhere to work that was relevant to my area of study and aligned with my new goals of working in my language and culture. I called up the former Manager of the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre Charlotte Stringram and shared that I wanted to return to the Cultural Centre full-time. However, due to my new degree I wanted to be more than an interpreter. I wanted to immerse myself in our language and culture in order to create programs to share it with our youth. Apart from that, I knew that Charlotte was going to retire in the next few years and asked that she could mentor me in hopes of one day becoming the manager. I think she was a little taken aback at first but admired my dreams and the vision I had for our People and agreed to give me a chance and hired me as the Cultural Coordinator. That was back in 2019 and three years later, I became General Manager of the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MOST MEMORABLE AND PROUD CAREER HIGHLIGHTS TO DATE?
Accidentally co-writing/editing a book. Wanting to take some of the load off of Charlotte, I volunteered to proofread a few pages of a new book, 100x100, the book wrote about the last 100 years of the town of Oliver and the 10,000+ years of the Osoyoos Indian Band. Upon reading the first page I found discrepancies, at no fault to the author of the book but actually of those that had recorded it in history. I remember saying, “This is wrong, I don’t know exactly what is right right now, but I will find it and get back to you.” I was reminded of one of my University classes that everyone has their own biases. Those that documented the last 100 years of the Osoyoos Indian Band in history also had their biases. This book wasn’t telling both sides of the story and I couldn’t allow the history of OIB to be falsely recorded and our oral history be undervalued any longer. Okanagan history is still heavily based on our oral traditions. I began interviewing my Great Grandfather about what was written. I read the first piece I wanted to fact check and right away he said “No No No No… Your Great Grandma…” and continued to tell me what actually happened and was able to give me more information and lead me on my way. I brought this to the Oliver District Heritage Society (ODHS) board and had the support of Charlotte to fix the discrepancies and uphold our oral knowledge to the same value as we do our written or they wouldn’t have the OIB history in their book. Once they sent me the whole book in an editable file I couldn’t stop. I went a little beyond the few pages and I started adding our nsyilxcn language throughout the book. I also refused to write the language out phonetically because so many words have changed through history this way. Instead I asked if we could record one of our local elders and add QR codes so the people could hear the correct pronunciation. Next thing I knew, something that was supposed to be an hour assignment ended up being months long. The author/editor Ken Favrholdt and the ODHS board honoured my efforts by making me the co-author/editor.
WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED ON YOUR JOURNEY TO BECOMING THE MANAGER & CULTURAL COORDINATOR OF NK’MIP DESERT CULTURAL CENTRE?
COVID-19 hit shortly after I had been hired on as the Cultural Coordinator and my dreams to bring elders in to teach the youth were put on hold to keep everyone safe. Because of the pandemic we had to work with a skeletal crew and are still experiencing that. Everyone went and continues to go above and beyond to keep us afloat. Seeing the stress of being understaffed, the pandemic and a new expansion breaking ground, I offered to take off some of the load from Charlotte. I helped apply for a few grants and was her shadow at the expansion meetings. Although I’d intended to be a shadow, I spoke up and shared my opinions at the first meeting and quickly became a part of the working group assisting Charlotte and making decisions as a team. I had never worked in project management before so joining the project mid-way through was a huge learning curve. Charlotte ended up retiring earlier than expected, but I’d been immersed in her leadership. I finished off the rest of the expansion of our building and new Pit House and quickly learned what it really takes to manage a non-profit organization. Just over one year into my new role, I have learned so much and continue to learn everyday.
THIS PAST YEAR NK’MIP CULTURAL CENTRE SAW A NEARLY 1.2 MILLION EXPANSION, WHAT CAN VISITORS EXPECT THIS SUMMER?
In our new expansion we added a conference room that seats up to 35 people and is available to rent, a new office space, a Class A repository and a modern take on a traditional Pit House that is also available for rental and can seat up to 60 people.
WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN IN INDIGENOUS TOURISM IN THE PROVINCE SINCE STARTING YOUR CAREER?
I have seen increased opportunities and support for Indigenous communities to get involved in Indigenous tourism. Indigenous Tourism BC has been of tremendous value with supporting and helping our small businesses grow. Helping us with grants, marketing, workshops, mentorship and the list really could go on. What I found is there’s appreciation for our culture and people really just want to learn and support that. I love that I get to speak my language and share parts of my culture with people in hopes for education, understanding and breaking stereotypes.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG WOMEN THINKING OF GETTING INTO THE TOURISM INDUSTRY?
Although I seemed to have ended up here by accident through following my passions and what I truly love, it is the best job I have ever had. I encourage women and especially Indigenous women to take up space. Be confident and true to yourself and don’t underestimate yourself. If I had kept my opinions to myself I wouldn’t be where I am today.
ABOUT JENNA:
cnúk Jenna Bower is a sqilxᵂ, sukʷnaʔqinx woman and member of the Osoyoos Indian Band, part of the syilx Nation and has roots to the Sinixt Arrow Lakes People. Jenna’s traditional name cnúk means Warm Southern Wind and was given to her by her late Great Grandmother. Jenna is a nsyilxcən language learner and speaker and working her way towards fluency.