2023 Indigenous Communities Fellowship
Native Water Nuclear Activation Analysis
What is the name of your solution?
Native Water Nuclear Activation Analysis
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
Utilizing nuclear activation analysis to test native water sources to evaluate contaminants beyond the scope of federal water tests
What specific problem are you solving?
Currently Native American and First Nations tribes are provided federal water testing as a legal treaty obligation to assure the water on indigenous lands are clean. The federal water testing methods provided to tribes look for tritium, lead, asbestos, and other specific contaminants that do not account for all of the elements that can reside in a water sample. Neutron activation analysis is a respected testing method in the field of nuclear engineering that provides the full spectrum of elements in a sample and the concentration of each. Through using NAA on water samples, a tribe can truly know what elements are in their water. There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States and 634 federally recognized first nations in Canada with hundreds unrecognized across North America or Turtle Island. Each tribe and first nation has their own way of life, however the vitality of water stays constant. Water is considered a living being for the anishinaabe or Ojibwe, and they treat it as such. With colonization, the access and health of water has transformed and in many cases has gotten contaminated from industrial plants, pipelines, and building materials. If all contamination is not shown from federal water testing, the truth behind the cleanliness of tribal water sources remains a mystery. There are metals, carcinogens, and chemicals that bypass federal water testing year by year that affect the public health of North American tribes and their land. For example, phosphorus levels in water that exceed 40 parts per million may lead to early Parkinson's and neurological conditions. Nibi-Clear was formed to provide a novel water testing solution for Indigenous water sources so tribes are aware of the true health of their water since water is life.
What is your solution?
Neutron Activation Analysis is an established testing method for elemental evaluation that is lesser known than traditional hydrologic methods. Since water can be exposed to natural and man-made substances, that debris leaves an elemental footprint that can be detected with spectroscopic measurements. NAA takes a 5 mL sample that contains stable isotopes and "activates" the isotopes to a radioactive state using a research nuclear reactor. The energy emitted (gamma rays, beta particles) during the radioactive state can be detected and characterized by the energy that was emitted. A basic way to describe how a sample goes from stable to radiated is imagining a flat balloon. The balloon will stay flat until air or helium is added to it, in this case neutron energy. Once the balloon is inflated, we could let go of the balloon in a building and the balloon would float upwards until it reaches the top. The balloon will slowly lose air which demonstrates how energy is released as gamma, beta, and alpha energies after activation. As the balloon loses air, it will eventually return to the ground flat again, becoming a stable product once again. The spectrum of energies provide a characterization of what is inside the water samples and the concentration of each.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Indigenous water sources and land are the focus of Nibi-Clear's vision. Historically, water quality and environmental protection on tribal lands have been minimized for colonial benefits, the Dakota Access Pipeline being one of the most known. Thousands of protestors and water protectors urged to stop the pipeline because an oil leak would ruin the water reserves and groundwater of several tribes in North and South Dakota. There was some press coverage which is more than many indigenous water protection efforts get, however the press never showed the aftermath of the water contamination when the pipeline ruptured and thousands of gallons of oil leached into the water network serving over 7 tribes in the plains region. In the southwest, the US government found out about uranium deposits on the Navajo reservation and without consultation, mined, detonated rock, and contaminated the water serving thousands of Diné people. There is a need for tribal nations to know what is present in their water. By working with North American tribes to test water quality, tribal leadership can obtain grants for water filtration and revitalization of their water. The tribal members that reside on trust land and reservations will benefit from having cleaner water and the ability to advocate for their basic right to clean water. The health and livelihood of indigenous populations are at the forefront of the solution. When providing tribal leadership with contaminant concentrations and possible health effects of the raised concentrations, a movement towards clean water can be made that will serve the tribe and the seven generations after.
Which Indigenous community(s) does your solution benefit? In what ways will your solution benefit this community?
As an Ojibwe lead solution, the importance of tribal community members is pertinent to the mission of Nibi-Clear. Environmental health is indigenous people's health and public health. Elemental contamination can show itself in many different health conditions. Specific metals can be safe in lower quantities, but when ingested over time, can build up and cause neurological and vascular brain conditions. Furthermore, some tribes have cultural practices that include breathing in steam from water poured on heated rocks, which poses a greater hazard than drinking the water alone. Nibi-Clear aims to serve each individual tribe a tailored water testing experience that takes into account the cultural practices that are relevant and the community the water serves. Native American and First Nations people are taught to respect and uplift their elders and many communities focus on elder health and care. Providing tribal leadership with water health means a tribe will be able to better take care of their tribal members and elders. When proper water care is provided, incidence of comorbidities may decline especially in elder populations. Nibi-Clear is a starting point for tribes to reclaim their health, environment, and water sovereignty.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
Nibi-Clear may be one of many non-profits advocating for clean water for indigenous communities, however they are the only indigenous founded and operated water quality non-profit that uses neutron activation analysis to quantify contaminants in tribal water sources. Nibi-Clear's team lead is anishinaabe from Bay Mills Indian Community and was raised in the Ojibwe traditional ways. Nibi-Clear personally travels to and from tribal nations to discuss water testing and tests the samples at a research reactor. When consulting with each tribe for water samples, the culture and teachings of the tribe are learned and taken into account when handling the samples and throughout the testing process. When working with Ojibwe tribes, the water is considered a living entity and when taken out of the lake, semaa or tobacco is laid down to provide respect and appreciation for the water. When working with Dakota tribes, the water is also sacred and is a healing place for their people. Throughout US and Canadian history, research institutions and colonial developments have disrespected indigenous people and their teachings and Nibi-Clear is an entity that wants to rewrite scientific testing on tribal lands by providing respectful consultation and data sovereignty to each tribe. When testing is done, the data is the tribe's to handle and use as they like.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Strengthen sustainable energy sovereignty and support climate resilience initiatives by and for Indigenous peoples.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Minneapolis, Minnesota
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
What is your solution’s stage of development?
Pilot: An organization testing a product, service, or business model with a small number of users
How many people does your solution currently serve?
4 tribes, ~5000 tribal members
Why are you applying to Solve?
At the moment, Nibi-Clear is able to perform the testing and analysis, however human capital would be the most important addition to the team. Expertise for public health, hydrology, and biostatistics would further Nibi-Clear's vision for meaningful Indigenous science. As a grassroots organization, the efforts are currently being provided by a nuclear engineering expert that has limited resources when it comes to biostatistics and native public health. Building a board and uplifting this organization through connections and finding resources for accounting practices will bring Nibi-Clear into the next steps that have been needed to provide the best data for inquiring tribes. The community from this challenge will ultimately provide the intersection of Indigenous academics and scientists needed to further Nibi-Clear's scope of work.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Angela Teeple
Please indicate the tribal affiliation of your Team Lead.
Bay Mills Indian Community
How is your Team Lead connected to the community or communities in which your project is based?
Nibi-Clear's team lead is Ojibwe and believes all the North American tribal nations are unique and their water testing should show that. Every tribe is different, but colonization treated them as the same. Federal water testing is same for every tribe and does not provide the full truth about what is in their water. When the team lead originally did this project in 2017 for her tribe at Bay Mills Indian Community, the federal water testing report showed a clean record for the tests done, but when the NAA was performed, elevated phosphorus, cobalt, iron, manganese, and chromium came back. Specifically, the phosphorus levels explained the increased incidence of early onset Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in her tribal community. From then, the Nibi-Clear team lead wanted to try and provide this service for every tribe that requests it. Every indigenous nation has a connection to water and how it supports them and she wants to provide tribes the first step to knowing their water sources as they do their ancestors.
What makes your solution innovative?
Due to the political and cultural climate of the nuclear complex, technologies using radioactive materials have been looked down upon. Scientifically, nuclear technologies provide immense power and research capabilities that have not been leveraged enough in all areas of research. By combining nuclear technology and water testing, a new gateway to accepting the nuclear complex as a whole will occur. With more community education about nuclear, more acceptance will come and will lead to safer, cleaner research and energy.
What are your impact goals for the next year and the next five years, and how will you achieve them?
Within the next year, I hope to be able to provide ten more tribes water quality reports and data alongside a team with a biostatistician, tribal public health expert, and accountant for the nonprofit funds. Within the next five years, I hope to have a team that has traveled to many tribal nations that requested water testing and provided data with starting points for tribes to receive water purification systems and grants for water sustainability.
Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?
Progress with Nibi-Clear will be measured by how many tribes have been served and how many tribes were able to access federal water quality grants that were not able to be pursued before.
What is your theory of change?
The service that Nibi-Clear provides supplies tribes with data about their water sources that are beyond the scope of federal water testing. The data provided will empower tribes to reclaim their water rights. With more knowledge on what is in a tribe's water source, tribal administration will be able to apply for federal grants and pursue legal water rights appeals.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
The major technologies being utilized in Nibi-Clear's solution are research nuclear reactors, spectroscopy, and traditional ecological knowledge. These areas can be expanded by new connections and knowledge for traditional water technologies acquired from the people met through this fellowship.
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new application of an existing technology
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
In which parts of the US and/or Canada do you currently operate?
Great Lakes and Four Corners areas
In which parts of the US and/or Canada will you be operating within the next year?
Great Lakes, Four Corners, Pacific Northwest, Oklahoma, Canada
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
How many people work on your solution team?
2
How long have you been working on your solution?
6
What is your approach to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into your work?
As a still grassroots organization, Nibi-Clear is Ojibwe founded and operated, however within the nuclear community diversity is hard to find. By connecting with new people through the fellowship, my approach is to raise and highlight indigenous perspectives and ecological care and I want to do that by having a nonprofit board that reflects those values. Indigenous communities account for more than half of ecological stewardship and as an environmental organization, Nibi-Clear aims to advance its mission with people of color and affinity based personnel.
What is your business model?
Nibi-Clear currently has a fundraising business model where homemade crafts are made and sold by the founder and 100% of the profits are set aside for testing and travel. The crafts sold include t-shirts with Native American designs, hand beaded ornaments, and painted birchbark earrings. The money is used for testing and travel to tribal nations.
As a service, Nibi-Clear operates as a resource to tribal nations who are looking for third party water testing. A tribe requests the water testing and consultation with the team lead is done to ensure cultural practices and considerations are performed for the tribe. Once testing is complete, a report of findings and the original data is provided to the tribe. This service is beneficial to tribal nations who are looking to quantify contaminants in their drinking, tap, and groundwater.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Organizations (B2B)What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable?
The plan is to continue selling crafts as an avenue for funding, but to add financial streams through grants and donations. I am hoping to gain connections and support from the challenge to learn how to apply for grants to continue this work and provide more tribal nations the water testing they need. Support through advertisement, grant writing, and website building will provide the attention and monetary needs for Nibi-Clear if chosen.
Solution Team
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Angela Teeple Founder, Nibi-Clear
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Our Organization
Nibi-Clear