“Compelled To Do Better”
Q&A with Chippewa of the Thames tribal member and Species at Risk Specialist Andie Albert

Andie Albert took courses online and at Au Sable’s Michigan campus in the spring and summer of 2021. She currently works with her First Nation, the Chippewa of the Thames, in Ontario, Canada. She monitors and supports endangered species within the tribe’s 10,800 acres of unceded land and within their original treaty territory of over two million acres. She is also studying in Western University’s Environment and Sustainability master's program.

Tell us about your background.

I was very lucky to grow up on the Chippewa of the Thames reserve. My parents were very outdoorsy and hands-on. We spent all summer outside and most winters hiking and playing in the snow. That’s how I got my interest in the environmental field.

Throughout my childhood, traditional ceremonies (such as fasting, the women's water ceremony, or smudging) and our way of living have taught us to thank Mother Nature and be grateful for everything that the earth has provided for us. I’ve always been super connected with the earth and compelled to do better.

When I first started [my college career] in Chemical Laboratory Technology, I didn’t understand why I always had this issue with it. You learn about all the chemicals, why they're used, and how harmful they are for the environment. I always felt morally wrong for what I was doing within that program and how things were being handled. After that program I thought I was going to go into wastewater management because on my First Nation we haven’t had clean drinking water for three or four years now. We're on a boiled water advisory. Every two weeks each household gets two cases of water. But when I went to Au Sable and I felt my calling in species and habitat restoration.

How did you come to attend Au Sable?

I studied Honors Enviromental Science through Redeemer University [in Ontario, Canada]. Honors students were required to go to Au Sable. At first, I dreading going, because I knew I was going to be one of the older students.

But by the second week, one of the girls I shared a cabin with became one of my best friends. By then my classes also started getting super-interesting. We were in the field all day. My teachers, “Aqua Dan” and Vern, were so engaging and in love with their job and the environment. They helped me see my passion with fish. We learned how to do water sampling, benthic samplings, and fish samplings. I’m so thankful for Aqua Dan’s Aquatic Biology course because that’s what pushed me into my field today. And after watching Vern talk about conservation biology and explain how everything has its place in the world, I became more appreciative of trees and plants and birds.

In the end I’m so thankful I went to Au Sable and for how much it plays a role in my career today. I was able to secure a position working with my First Nation in their environmental department, where I have worked my way up to Species at Risk Specialist. I specialize in amphibians, reptiles, fish, and a little into birds. All the field skills I learned at Au Sable have played into my job today.

What does your current job involve?

I go by season. In field season, starting in March or April, I go out hiking, kayaking, canoeing, and birding. I set up cameras and ARU’s (acoustic reading units) to track species.

I’m looking for all the threatened, endangered, or special concern species that can be located within our nation but also within traditional treaty territory, which is massive. I’m recording all the data because this hasn’t been tracked since 2013 or 2014.

Recently, I was successful in writing grant proposals to get government funding for two massive, projects. My first one was $25,000 and my second one was $150,000 for three years, which is great. I have my job for a little bit longer.

One of our major projects this past summer had to do with spiny softshell turtles, which are endangered. We extracted 156 eggs, incubated them, and watched them hatch. We released 120 of them back into the wild. If you leave the eggs out there, only .05% of them make it. That’s barely any. By taking their eggs and incubating them, they have a 10% chance of survival. They are still are babies, and there are still are predators, but it was great to release 120 spiny softshells.

I also focus on endangered birds. I found a couple endangered birds [in our tribal territory] and we are now restoring habitat for them. We also are building snake hibernaculums. Next summer I'll be doing the exact same thing but now on a bigger scale, as we have more funding. This summer I was focused on four to five species. Next summer I’ll be focusing on 20.

What was it like for you as an Indigenous person at Au Sable?

Getting sent seven hours away to Mancelona, Michigan was a culture shock. I was the only First Nations student there. The food is very different. But going to Au Sable and getting to experience a group of people whose main goal is also protection of the land was an amazing feeling.

[My time at Au Sable] really challenged my faith. Speaking with the other students that were questioning their faith at a young adult age, which most people should, made me question my own faith. The conversations got really deep. For me, it strengthened my faith knowing why we believe what we believe.

Being Indigenous and Christian is always a touchy subject, especially in Canada with the residential schools. Within Indigenous culture, you look up to the Creator. He or She created everything. But within Christianity, you have God who created everything. It's hard to go between both and figure out what path you want to take. You're walking between two worlds and you have to walk on eggshells sometimes. It's finding that place between both that you’re comfortable with. I’m on that fine line, where, yes, there is Creator, and yes, there is God. They're the same person, but are they the same person? It's that inner battle of where you stand.

Sounds like you’re still on a journey.

I feel like I always will be.

You’ve been an advocate for Indigenous issues at Christian institutions that haven’t always been very aware of them. What would you like readers to know?

I would like my Au Sable community to be aware of the land they are walking on. I am from Canada and our laws and regulations are a bit different. Every part of Canada is a traditional treaty territory of a First Nation. Be mindful of the connection many Indigenous people feel with the land.