The students and young professionals profiled in this issue share their journeys and some tips they’ve picked up along the way. Our AISES college members come from diverse backgrounds and far-flung places, and not all take the traditional route to higher education. You will probably see some elements of your own story reflected in these pages. With the continuing support of family, friends, and AISES, these students — and you — are on the path to success.
When most people say they want to be a doctor or researcher, they often imply that their parents forced them into it. My parents are professors of history — boy, were they surprised when I came out loving math and science!
Being raised by professors definitely shaped my work ethic. Ever since I can remember, I was in a college classroom. While my father was doing research and writing his book, I visited residential schools our families had gone to, and he told me stories that made me angry and frustrated. My grandparents’ experiences driving far from our reservation for medical care also influenced my path.
“I have become very active when it comes to pushing the university to have more resources for Native American students in STEM and to make neuroscience more inclusive and supportive.”
My mother is a fiery individual who always stands up for what she believes in. Before basketball games, she would have me stand in front of a mirror with her and scream, “I am a monster!” She sparked a confidence in me to stand up for those who aren’t able to fight for themselves.
While I grew up in many college towns, most notably I lived in Las Vegas. From a very early age, my mom encouraged me to join math and science clubs. During middle school and high school, we studied science for fun all the time. I found people who also loved science, which gave me a small community I could thrive with.
I actually wanted to be an aeronautical engineer until I participated in the Research Experience for Underrepresented Students at the University of Nevada after I graduated from high school. I was placed in a neuroscience lab. I loved the brain and looking at cells, and I knew that was the path I wanted to follow.
At the University of Oregon, I felt lonely and homesick at first. My father pushed me to go to the Longhouse for their weekly community meeting and dinner — that day really changed my life. I was welcomed with open arms and met a student trying to go to medical school who became my mentor. I still often feel alone in my classrooms, having to correct professors when they oversimplify Native American issues or confront someone for having questionable comments. But I remember that, at the end of the day, I have my community there to support me.
My first research experience changed the course of what I wanted to do. I realized how much we don’t know about our own brain! A project on how a stressful environment could change brain cells made me think about the long-term impacts of oppression, the reservation system, and the forced removal of our people.
My PI (principal investigator) suggested I apply to conferences and has helped me become more comfortable in my lab by discussing problems minority groups face. Other students get a better understanding of why I’m the way I am and become more respectful.
I am extremely proud of my two Udall Undergraduate Scholarships (the Morris K. Udall Fellowship). Through the Stamps Scholarship, my school’s most prestigious award, I was able to study abroad and performed research at Harvard Medical School this past summer under Dr. Brendan Lehnert, my first-ever Native American mentor in research.
I was very nervous and honestly did not feel like I was supposed to be there. But I realized that I could be in these spaces and succeed! I also was able to feel more supported than I ever had when it came to relating to my Native American heritage. We named the experimental mice in our Native languages, smudged on the lawn in front of the school, and talked about the difficulties of being a Native American in this field.
Two of the major teachings I have received from my culture are empathy and community. I have become very active when it comes to pushing the university to have more resources for Native American students in STEM and to make neuroscience more inclusive and supportive.
This year, I hope we’ll start rebuilding our AISES chapter, a dream of mine since I was a freshman. I often felt alone and overwhelmed, but I knew a person in the Native American Student Union who had been in my shoes. I knew if he could do it, I could too. I want this same idea to be in my AISES chapter: a safe community where we all support each other and see that we can accomplish our goals!
I plan to pursue an MD/PhD to find early biomarkers for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders that plague reservations so I can provide specialized health care to my people. Further, I want to explore how historical trauma can chemically and morphologically change the brain to try to understand how to reverse the impacts of colonialism at the cellular level.
Native American issues, health care, and science are intermingled in my path. Once you think about diabetes, you then think about food accessibility and exercise issues that can be addressed through science. We need young students to be inspired by these problems to create change in their communities!
—As told to Patrick Quinn
Rare earth elements (REEs) are vital in medicine, electronics, renewable energy, and communications. But extracting REEs is environmentally stressful, with multiple potential supply chain problems. To address this, I created Arctic Biotech Oath (arcticbiotechoath.com), a start-up to develop sustainable biotechnology to extract REEs from mine ore and tailings using microorganisms in a circumneutral pH rather than highly acidic compounds common to traditional techniques.
My Yup’ik name is Tanqiilnguq “One Who Brings Light,” and Arctic Biotech Oath will bring new light in the form of opportunities to my people and the nations brought together through AISES. Thanks to my start-up and my biotechnology research, I was honored this year by Senator Dan Sullivan on the floor of Congress as “Alaskan of the Week.”
I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, where I have fond memories of Kotlik, the village where my people have lived and hunted since time immemorial. I learned the traditional seal hunt using a wooden spear and nuqaq (atlatl, or stick used to propel a spear). I found my interest in science in second grade when I began asking questions about the world around me — my first science project involved measuring how adding a nuqaq can increase the distance you can throw a spear.
My high school teachers and mentors helped guide me to my research path. I was lucky in that my high school experience offered opportunities to learn laboratory protocols such as genetic engineering techniques that are usually introduced much later. I drew inspiration from my family, college advisors, colleagues, and AISES. My grandmother taught me the value of listening, and my mother, who holds a master’s degree in environmental science, taught me that learning is a joy. My father taught me the value of a good work ethic.
I’m currently in my senior year at the University of Alaska Anchorage pursuing a degree in chemistry. For me, chemistry offers answers to pressing questions like how can we create chemical products that we want? How can we make REEs available sustainably?
The university is a great place to be in terms of innovation and growth. Alaska Natives welcome our fellow Indigenous peoples; we share many of the same issues, sovereign powers, and future potential. Besides AISES, my main efforts go toward research and training assistantships in applied biotechnology protocols.
During the summer of 2018, I participated in the university’s Della Keats Health Sciences Summer Program developing naturally occurring microorganisms to extract REEs using green biotechnology. This past summer I had the opportunity to be a research assistant doing ceramide-kidney research at the University of Utah Department of Pediatrics and Medical School through the Native American Summer Research Internship (NARI). This fall I presented at the 2021 National Academy of Inventors in the Next Generation Inventors session on my start-up and the biotechnology used for green biomining of REEs.
“One challenge I’ve faced is finding peers and mentors … who understand our historical background. This situation may be changing as more Indigenous people fill these roles.”
One challenge I’ve faced is finding peers and mentors of a similar ethnicity who understand our historical background. This situation may be changing as more Indigenous people fill these roles. I hope to be part of that movement. Another challenge is finding others with a drive to apply their knowledge. My mentor, research group, and societies like AISES have been of great help in overcoming such challenges.
I joined AISES in 2018 and I recently served as president of our College Chapter. Two of my goals are to encourage AISES members to think about problems they can solve and to invite Indigenous professionals to speak to future Indigenous leaders in STEM. AISES has been an important part of my journey by providing a forum where I can present my research and my ideas can have an impact. Every AISES member should attend a National Conference and share their ideas. At the 2019 AISES National Conference, I placed first in the Graduate Division Research. AISES partner Change Labs has been helpful in advising me on pitching my start-up and on presentation techniques. Their advice helped me win first place at the High North Dialogue Conference in Norway this year.
I predict we are going to see a rise in Indigenous entrepreneurs and tech enterprises, with AISES providing guidance along each unique path. My goals include being the CEO of a biotechnology company. The Arctic is a key place where Indigenous peoples will play a role. We will have a seat at the table to make decisions in terms of land, energy, and new enterprises.
—As told to Tyler J. Rust
I started out at the University of Saskatchewan in biochemistry. For that major, physics was a prerequisite. Although I had taken physics in high school, it wasn’t my favorite subject. I liked biology and chemistry, but the reading in those courses became overwhelming. Physics, on the other hand, included lab work. We learn theories, and then in the lab, we see those theories in action. That helped me understand the material better, and I decided to switch my major to physics.
When I was further along in my coursework, I made the connection that in Indigenous culture, learning has a history of being oral and land based. When I think of physics, that’s what I think of. Subconsciously, I knew that I learn best by seeing what’s being explained actually demonstrated. That’s how our people have always learned.
A weeklong summer course — the Canadian Astroparticle Physics Summer School — helped me pinpoint astrophysics as a field I’ll likely pursue at the graduate level. Another opportunity has been an internship with Canadian Light Source, a national facility for research in health, agriculture, environment, and advanced materials. My internship focuses on using data collected by the radio frequency cavity to see if the conditions are a good simulation of a comet orbiting in space. Understanding how changes in radio frequency or electromagnetic fields influence space surrounding Earth is fascinating to me. There’s so much to learn. I plan to see which universities offer astrophysics research projects for after I graduate in April 2022.
I grew up in Saskatoon, the largest city in Saskatchewan. I’m a registered member of English River First Nation, which is Dene First Nation on Treaty 10 territory. I am also Cree and Métis. I have two sisters and one brother and many extended family members, some as far away as Alberta and Scotland.
My family is matriarchal. I grew up encouraged to be an independent and strong Indigenous woman. My culture has given me a different way of looking at things, more of a holistic view. It’s also helped me think outside the box. Recently I’ve been spending more time learning about traditional knowledge, my culture, and my family’s history.
“Having a place in these institutions is important in paving a path for our younger generation.”
I’ve had the support of my family all along the way and they’ve always encouraged me to pursue my education. I’m never going to stop learning. It’s taken me longer to earn my bachelor’s degree because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. But I took a few years off after high school — I wasn’t quite ready for college, and I think it’s important to go at your own pace. Your mental health has to be in good shape so you can focus on your studies.
As I progressed further into my degree, I didn’t feel homesick because my family lives in the same city, but I felt the effects of impostor syndrome — that feeling of self-doubt, like you don’t belong. It’s hard to overcome. In all honesty, I don’t think I’ve overcome it. I often feel like I don’t belong or I’m not as impressive as my peers. But caving in to those feelings won’t benefit anybody. Being an Indigenous Two Spirit woman in a career that barely has any women, let alone queer Indigenous women, can definitely be daunting, but that’s not going to stop me from overcoming barriers. After all, universities weren’t made for Indigenous people, they were made for white men, so feeling uncomfortable is inevitable. Having a place in these institutions is important in paving a path for our younger generation.
Becoming involved with AISES has helped me along my college path. A friend told me the university was going to help fund students who wanted to attend the AISES in Canada National Gathering, and I attended the one in Calgary and Montreal. Those conferences were my introduction to AISES, and it was such a beautiful experience. It was inspiring to see so many Indigenous professionals, and, in particular, Indigenous physicists.
AISES is starting to gain more of a presence in Canada and new chapters are forming at some of our universities. My friend Micheala Merasty and I started the USask AISES College Chapter, and I am the current president. We are looking to recruit executive members who can lead the chapter when we graduate.
I look forward to becoming a physics professor who can serve as a strong role model to Indigenous students. I know it would’ve been inspirational to have such a role model along my path, so that is my goal.
—As told to Kimberly Durment Locke