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Angela Teeple, Founder & CEO of Nibi-Clear
Angela Teeple (Bay Mills Indian Community) is a nuclear engineer, medical physicist, and water protector. She founded Nibi-Clear to bring high-precision water testing directly to tribal governments, empowering communities to take control of their environmental health through their own data.
Angela holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering from Kansas State University, a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Oklahoma, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Medical Physics at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Through her unique background bridging science, law, and Indigenous governance, Angela created Nibi-Clear as both a technical service and a movement for environmental sovereignty. Her approach ensures that data collected from tribal lands stays under tribal authority, aligning scientific precision with cultural and legal self-determination.
“When I first began testing water in my home community, I saw how deeply contamination affects not just health, but our relationship to the land and to each other. I built Nibi-Clear so that our Nations can access world-class science without giving up control of our stories.” - Angela Teeple, Founder/CEO
Our Mission
To combine Indigenous knowledge and nuclear science in service of environmental justice, providing communities with precise, sovereign data to protect their lands, waters, and future generations.
Science Guided by Sovereignty
Nibi-Clear is an Indigenous-led water testing initiative built on a simple belief: clean water is more than a resource, it’s a right, a relative, and a responsibility. Founded by Angela Teeple, a member of the Bay Mills Indian Community and PhD candidate in Medical Physics, Nibi-Clear brings cutting-edge nuclear science directly into the hands of the communities it serves.
Using neutron activation analysis (NAA), a highly sensitive forensic method capable of identifying dozens of elements at once down to parts per billion, Nibi-Clear uncovers contaminants that often go undetected by conventional testing. From lead and copper to chlorine byproducts and rare trace metals, Nibi-Clear’s reports reveal the complete elemental profile of water sources, allowing communities to act before problems become crises.
Data Sovereignty at the Nucleus
Every test performed through Nibi-Clear is governed by one central principle: data sovereignty.
All results, datasets, and interpretations remain the property of the tribal governments and communities that provide the samples. Partner Nations decide how their information is stored, shared, and used, ensuring that scientific data supports self-determination, not outside control.
Our reporting framework follows the CARE Principles, Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics, and aligns with OCAP® standards for First Nations data governance. This approach protects both environmental information and the rights of the people who live closest to it.
From Data to Action
Each Nibi-Clear report goes beyond numbers.
Our results include clear, community-focused summaries of public health relevance, with explanations of how contaminants may affect ecosystems and human health. When applicable, reports also reference existing legal or environmental case law related to the identified contaminants, empowering tribal governments with the scientific and legal context needed to take informed action in courtrooms, environmental reviews, or policy discussions.
In this way, Nibi-Clear bridges science and sovereignty, transforming laboratory findings into tools for health advocacy, environmental restoration, and legal protection.
Our Vision
A future where every community has access to clean, safe water and full control over the data that defines it.
Because when Indigenous Nations own their data, they own their power.
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