This article originally appeared at biinaagami.org , a change-provoking initiative seeking to uplift the stories of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed.

In the swamps and streams of Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, Chevaun Toulouse spent her childhood searching for salamanders, wrangling snakes, and tracking nesting turtles with her brother. Her love of the outdoors ultimately led her down a path of conservation and advocating for the protection of slithering and scaly creatures in her Nation’s territory. Her stories from the field tell of nature’s resilience, the connection between lands and language, and how traditional stories provide insight into animal behaviour and physiology.

Now she’s inspiring the next generation, including her son, to take up the torch by recounting tradi

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