My Journey as a Cherokee Nation Citizen and Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar

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November 2024

My name is Amanda Nichole Croteau, and I am a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen and marine scientist living in Sacramento, California. Despite growing up in the city, I fell in love with marine science through an undergraduate oceanography class at California State University (CSU), Sacramento. I’ve since committed myself to be as involved in the ocean as possible. Through this article, I share my journey as an Indigenous scientist and the experiences that have shaped who I am today and my goals as a NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar: sharing my love for ocean sciences with the community while studying coral geochemistry. I would not be here today without the love and sacrifice of my family.

My Family Walked the Trail of Tears

Prior to the Trail of Tears, my ancestors lived for generations in present-day eastern Georgia, at the mouth of Deep Creek, where Indigenous villages stood along the Soque River. This was until their Forced Removal. In the 1830s, my ancestors were forced to leave their ancestral homelands out of fear of persecution from the United States government, and traveled to present-day Oklahoma.

Within the same generation as the Forced Removal, my family fled Indian Country to seek refuge during the ongoing Civil War battles occurring on their land. Upon the end of the Civil War, my family returned to the Cherokee Nation for four generations to the small town of Bluejacket, Oklahoma. My family eventually made our way out to California when my great-great-grandfather was drafted to serve in the military during World War I. His son, my great-grandfather, joined the military for World War II and eventually settled in Sacramento, California, where my family has lived ever since.

Growing up in the city, I did not learn about ocean sciences until my first oceanography class at California State University, Sacramento, and I was instantly enthralled by ocean currents and coastal geology. That same semester, I switched my major to Earth sciences and never looked back!

My Research Took Off at NASA

I landed my first research internship with the NASA Ames Research Center Biospheric Science Branch for about a year and a half, where I researched the accuracy and usage of satellites for analyzing plant drought stress, harmful algal blooms, and sediment output around the California coastline, including within Monterey Bay and Greater Farallones national marine sanctuaries. The experience was very intimidating at the beginning—especially as a first-time researcher—but it allowed me to grow exponentially as a scientist. With the amazing guidance of my supervisor and mentor, Dr. Christopher Potter, we were able to publish a manuscript before I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 2022.

While awaiting the manuscript edits and responses during my senior year, I worked in Dr. Amy Wagner’s Aquatic Geochemistry and Spectroscopy (WAGS) Lab. Hoping to gain more experience in the biological side of oceanography, I sieved sediment cores collected from Tanner Basin, San Diego, and hand-picked tiny shelled plankton (foraminifera) fossils for geochemical analyses to understand how the ocean conditions changed over various interglacial periods.

During my time at both NASA and in the WAGS Lab, I also volunteered at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California. I drove roughly two hours each way to volunteer during the Monday night shift, caring for California sea lions, northern elephant seals, southern sea otters, northern fur seals, harbor seals, and Guadalupe fur seals. I witnessed the harmful impact of human activities and changing ocean conditions on these species, and I found a strong urge to find a way to link the health of the ocean with the well-being of the species that depend on it. This was the “Aha!” moment that led me to my master's degree studying how corals record ocean chemistry in their skeletons.

Reconnecting With My Relatives

Growing up, I always knew that I was Indigenous. My family members are all assigned “Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood” cards, which were first imposed on our ancestors as a way to take our land. Growing up in Sacramento away from the Cherokee Nation reservation, I’ve always felt a disconnect between myself and my heritage, which only grew as I entered university.

During my sophomore year, I met Cody, another Indigenous student who had encouraged me to join the Ensuring Native Indian Traditions Club on campus. As a white Indigenous woman, I was hesitant to join the club, as I felt it was not my place to share a space with those who had faced adversities not just for being Native, but for their skin tone and socioeconomic class. I was quick to learn that my experience of not fitting the “stereotypical Native American look” was a shared experience among many Indigenous People, and for the next six years, I used my privilege to fight for Indigenous students on campus.

Throughout my time at Sacramento State, I have been an officer of the Indigenous students’ club for roughly four years, where we worked to open up the campus’ first Native American Student Center, the Esak’timá Center, removed Columbus Day from the academic calendar, educated the campus on issues faced by Indigenous People such as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, created a safe space for Indigenous students to conduct cultural practices, and did outreach to community colleges and high schools.

When I wasn’t working on behalf of the club, I was doing outreach to departments within the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, sharing the importance of including Land Acknowledgements and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in college courses, especially classes that conduct field work and collect natural resources from the land. I also began intentionally learning about the history of the Indigenous People whose land that I occupy, learned when and how to harvest and dry sage from the American River, and participated in survey efforts for the endemic western pond turtle in Bushy Lake, Sacramento, spearheaded by Indigenous professor Dr. Michelle Stevens.

In an effort to reconnect with my relatives in Oklahoma and learn more about my identity, I started digging into my family’s documents and pictures, learning the extent of my family’s history on these lands, taking Cherokee language courses, and reading about our Tribal history. After several years of reconnecting to my family’s cultural identity, I wanted to find a way to conduct my master’s research while also giving back to Indigenous communities.

Studying Corals From Sacramento

The funding opportunities for pursuing a marine science master’s degree from Sacramento are extremely limited. During my first semester of graduate school, I applied to the prestigious NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program, sure that I wasn’t going to get it. This program funds graduate students conducting marine research within the National Marine Sanctuary System. In May of 2023, I received the call that I had earned the scholarship! It was truly surreal to know that I could chase my dreams without the financial burden of graduate school.

For my master’s thesis, I am collaborating with Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico to collect coral and seawater samples to determine how the coral collects nutrients and chemicals for its skeleton.

Like humans, corals are animals whose biological processes (like eating and reproducing) cause its bodily chemistry to differ from that of its environment. I hope to figure out what this difference is, so we can use the coral skeleton to more accurately see how its environment has changed throughout time. The coral that I am working with, a Siderastrea siderea core, is about 8 inches long, and it contains over 50 years of information!

In addition to my research, the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship allows its scholars to participate in a program collaboration with one of the national marine sanctuaries. In November of 2024, I will be traveling to National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa to conduct outreach to teach local K-12 teachers and students about ocean acidification, how corals grow and how they record environmental conditions in their skeletons while they grow, and some background information about how the Samoan Islands formed. I hope to also spend a large portion of my time learning about the culture and heritage of American Samoa and the Polynesia region of the South Pacific Ocean. The descendents of Polynesian voyagers who today live in American Samoa are the original stewards that continue to protect the waters and wildlife within the national marine sanctuary.

In addition to my outreach in American Samoa, I will also be returning to the Cherokee Nation, conducting science experiments and outreach with local K-12 high schools and the community. I hope to share my love for ocean science and show that no matter where you are from, everyone plays a part in the health of our marine ecosystems. I hope to inspire Native kids like me and share a message that despite adversity, they can chase their passions and make a difference in the ocean science community.

ᎦᏚᎩ (Gadugi): Working Together

ᎦᏚᎩ is the Cherokee word for "Gadugi" which we commonly use to describe people who work together toward a common good, or a community. I would not be the successful scientist I am today without the guidance and support of the Gadugi that guided and supported me, including my NASA mentor, Dr. Chris Potter, and my amazing thesis advisors, Dr. Amy Wagner and Dr. Tim Davidson. Being welcomed into Sacramento State University’s Native community also played a vital role in my academic journey, so I would also not be here without José Mejía, Cody Mitchell, Maria Elena Pulido-Sepulveda, Sara Harris, and all of the Native staff and faculty.

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has allowed me to pursue my dream of making a difference in the ocean community, and I am forever grateful. I would not have been able to pursue this master’s thesis project without the unwavering support of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary’s awesome research team, Dr. Michelle Johnston, Josh Harvey, Ryan Hannum, Marissa Nuttall, and others, nor without my Louisiana State University collaborator Dr. Kristine DeLong’s Paleoclimate and Anthropological Studies lab.

Most importantly, I would not be here today without my family, including my mother Brandy, father figures Korey and Elmer, and brothers Daxton and Cole. The sacrifices made by my ancestors have allowed me to be in a position where I am able to chase my dreams, something they did not have the chance to do themselves. I am proud to be Indigenous, and I hope to inspire other Native scientists to dream big as well.

Amanda Nichole Croteau is a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen marine scientist and NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar

Rachel Plunkett is the content manager and senior writer/editor at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries