by Rev. Houston R. Cypress, Otter Clan,
Board of Directors
Love The Everglades Movement

What's most meaningful to me about supporting this gathering?  I have 2 reasons.

Originally, I was looking forward to meeting the communities that this gathering would have brought together; but, due to the public health emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic, everything is going online, virtual.  Over the years that I've been watching the Integral Theory blossom in many realms, I've been motivated by the incredible and positive changes throughout the world initiated by the diverse practitioners inspired by this work.  So, I was looking forwrd to meeting the people.

Secondly, I was looking forward to the expansion -- expansion of my heart and mind.  I want to be moved by what people are achieving on the land, with/in communities, and throughout the cultural expressions of diverse peoples.  The incredible work done by communities implementing Integral Theory have also cultivated beautiful, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary artwork and coalitions.

These two areas -- community and culture -- combined with a decolonial attitude toward knowledge and wisdom, are some of the primary sites where the work of our nonprofit organization does very well.  And we are happy to be inspired by the cosmovisions and traditional ecological knowledges of the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (known by some as the so-called Americas).  The frameworks, ideas, and critiques offered by the Integral community of theorists and practitioners have given us a way to talk across the divides.

We are honored and privileged to be able to do this work on lands that have been cared for by many indigenous communities of the past, present, and future -- including our friends:

• the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal Peoples,
  
• the Seminole Tribe of Florida,
  
• and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
  

We encourage you to learn more about their environmental priorities, and to do your best to support policies that integrate their conservation principles on a local, regional, national, and international scale. We are happy to uplift the scientific and conservation efforts of the Miccosukee Environmental Protection Agency.

One of the many reasons it's important to acknowledge the indigenous communities of this land is due to the effects of erasure from mainstream narratives caused by (un)official policies.  We honor the value of other knowledge systems, and we are inspired to action by traditional ecological knowledge, the arts, and the insights gained through science and research and personal experience.  We encourage a broader understanding of the American context for Reconciliation.  To learn more about that, please look up the 2009 US Apology to Native Peoples.

By finding a balance between these paradigms -- the Circle of Life as upheld by the Miccosukee and Seminole peoples, and the quadrants and levels, etc., of the Integral Theorists -- the Love The Everglades Movement has been able to articulate protocols of joy that create conditions for a strengthened, and reciprocal, relationship with the natural world that we are a part of. The images in this article are taken from my presentation at the Creative Time Summit from 2018.  The link is provided below.

Ultimately, we want to be able to bring a sense of creative solidarity with the natural world, and also with our friends and family among the indigenous communities, the First Nations, the Original Peoples.

We look forward to connecting with the broader community to share ideas, and ultimately the joys of our gardens, with one another.

By Dorothy Downs,
​followed by a conversation with Rev. Houston R. Cypress

​I invite readers to Canoe Back in Time, to visit a Miccosukee family living in the Everglades in the early 1920s. The people believe that Breathmaker, or Creator, made the world and shaped for them the great open grass and watery plain known as the Everglades, and put animals and humans on the land.
 
The people learned how to live and care for nature, the trees and plants, the clean water, and all that inhabited the river of grass. They were told what they should grow or hunt to eat. This story tells how the family lived then and honored Breathmaker at the annual Green Corn Dance.
 
Miccosukee founding Chairman, Buffalo Tiger, told me stories and said he wanted a book written for children, telling them the family values he was taught. He asked me to write Miccosukee Arts and Crafts, published by the tribe in 1982. I have written and illustrated this book for him and the Miccosukee people. Canoe is a work of fiction, strongly based on real stories told to me and on real people with my mixture of first and last Miccosukee names and clans. I thank everybody.
 
In the early 1920s, the Miccosukees were worried about what effect the building of the road across the Everglades to be known as the Tamiami Trail would have. I have included in Canoe a story of an event at Green Corn Dance, during a time when the men talked about business:

​Canoe is set in a Panther Clan camp. Each chapter cover aspects of family life, told through a very creative ten-year old girl, Sally Osceola. She wakes up, remembering "Today is my special day." Her parents are going by canoe to Miami to buy supplies, including cloth and thread for sewing.

Sally can't wait to get to her mother's sewing machine to learn how to sew her outfit to wear to Green Corn Dance ceremonies. Breathmaker has told Sally she will be an artist and she wants to honor Creator. The story follows her and her family's activities up to the big events.
 
As an art historian, I have written about all of the arts of Miccosukees and Seminoles. Once a creative girl and artist myself, my special interest is tracing the history of patchwork clothing and the women artists who sew it. Sally Osceola's excitement about creating art is the spark for the storyline.

​Chapters cover:  busy life in the camp, children being taught in the outdoors, how to treat company, and collecting plants and learning about healing from Grandma, the matriarch of the camp. There are games, daytime and nighttime activities. Singing, dancing, and stories told by elders by firelight finish off their nights. The families and friends celebrate together a Happy New Year at Green Corn Dance.
 
I hope the reader enjoys the trip back to the beautiful Everglades we Love.
❤🙏
 
(Published by IRIE Books, Santa Fe, NM. Available on amazon.com.)

​I visited Dorothy Downs at her home office.  Ensconced amidst a stunning collection of Native American art that includes pottery, baskets, sand paintings, wood carving ...

​The jaw-dropper:  EFFIE OSCEOLA’s array of fiery patchwork grandeur.  An Otter Clan mother of many generations, Effie’s virtuosity weighs forth as massive textile wall panels.  It screams forth in a fiery gradient cascading thru scarlet, jacinth, & neon-goldenrod, offering just a hint of refreshment with a pure turquoise dash, boldly sovereign in a lush white foundation.
 
We had just finished re-watching Patterns Of Power, an hour-length feature produced by Dorothy on Miccosukee & Seminole patchwork, and the community that created this unique sewing technique in the Everglades.  It’s captivating to listen to the music inherent in the cadence of the Miccosukee women, firmly situated in the various institutions of a tribal community after 2-and-a-half decades of federal recognition and self-determination:  Delores Billie and Virginia Poole in the Miccosukee Health Department, Jennie O. Billie in the Miccosukee Indian School.
 
Dorothy Downs contributed to the momentum of Miccosukee artist Stephen Tiger’s art career by giving him his first one-man exhibition at her Four Corners Gallery in Coral Gables.  Stephen, and his brother Lee, are the nexus of the Miccosukee rock-&-roll band TIGER TIGER – they brought a psychedelic indigenous force to the stage in their day.  Today there are other Miccosukee music bands like TALKING DOGS, but TIGER TIGER blazed the path.  These guys, along with their father, Hon. Buffalo Tiger, started the annual Miccosukee Arts Festival, which celebrates indigenous culture in the Everglades for one week after Christmas.

​Dorothy and I are in the process of reprinting a beautiful catalog that she produced for Hon. Buffalo Tiger, Miccosukee Chairman in 1982 when it was first published.  
 
Times have changed for the Miccosukee Tribe these days.  The newest Miccosukee publication comes from their Fish & Wildlife Department:

The wire bound booklet clearly states “For internal use only, not for commercial purposes.”  In 1982, back when a whole different generation of elders were in key leadership positions, the Miccosukee were proud to share such treasures of their cultural traditions and artistic innovations.  These days, the Miccosukee community are taking time to talk about the importance of Data Sovereignty — guarding scientific data generated from tribal research activities.  Even so, this department had quite a bit to report at the recent GEER 2019 Everglades science conference.
 
With important film events featuring indigenous stories coming this fall with Borscht in Miami, & at FGCU in Naples, exploring Dorothy’s newest work underscores the importance of creative solidarity between communities, and the enduring sexiness of cinema.  

​H:
I’ve had the pleasure of getting reacquainted with your work over the past couple of years.  I deeply appreciate how you always show us love when we setup at different tribal festivals.  I love how the land and the Everglades shows up in so much of what you’ve produced in collaborating with the indigenous communities. Let’s talk about you as a writer.  
 
D:
At first I didn’t think I was literary.  But I guess I’m a writer HAH! look at all this.  (Gestures to her books.). The 1981 Miami Herald Tropic Magazine article, "Chickee Chic." It’s a nice big article.  I went to a high school reunion and a girl in my class happened to be an editor at Tropic.  "She said what are you doing now?"  I said," Oh well, I just finished my Masters Degree at UM in art history and I’m doing a little writing.“ She said, “Well write something for me.”  She called me in to The Miami Herald, and there was this room with a glass window.  There were people waiting, and I went in and she asked me questions.  She said, “There’s a typewriter, now go write it.”  I didn’t even type!  Much later, a friend told me, “I can’t believe what you wrote in the paper about Marjory Stoneman Douglas!”
 
H:
What has it been like learning from and learning with communities?
 
D:
I am so dependent on that and so fortunate the people would share with me so openly.  You saw in the video how Frances Osceola and all these people are happy to be able to share.  So I feel so fortunate that they are that open to me and I started this in 1976, a long time ago.  I didn’t bring gifts.  I’d just go in, sit down, say Hi, and start talking.  And they would just work.  Frances with Wild Bill.  Effie didn’t speak English, so Howard was there.  These people opened up to me and maybe they saw the importance of it, too.  The first person I interviewed was Howard Osceola, and I said, “Do you mind if I tape you?”  He said, “Oh no I tape my father-in-law all the time, Josie Billie.”  So I learned it was okay to tape, because they wanted this information saved, and I saw that I could help them do that.  I met Howard through the University of Miami, because he was working with Iron Arrow, the Honor Society at UM. 
 
H:
How has producing the film changed you since then?  Or how has it impacted you?
 
D:
When I would go out to interview people, I would leave the City of Miami and drive Tamiami Trail and suddenly things would change.  Suddenly you’re in the Everglades.  And I may have had some ideas and questions in my head, but I would get out there and let the people tell me what they wanted to say.  But just the environment of being out there, listening to them talk about what they love and do, but then coming back, just remembering what they said, not what I wanted to know.  And the beauty of the Everglades changed the whole thing.  Just going into it, experiencing it, and then coming back.  That was really important to my work.  I’d like to say how much I appreciate having this as a lifetime goal.  I feel so lucky to be able to do what I do and be accepted for it.
 
H:
What do you mean?  Tell me more.
 
D:
I believe that my mission in life is explaining the beauty of cultural diversity through art.  That is what I somehow recognize.  I feel chosen for that.  I don’t know why.  It’s just something I started doing and the path went on and on.  I met people. I met Miccosukee people.  I feel like that’s what I’m here for.  And yes it not only deepens me but it’s what I’m supposed to do.  Now I don’t want to sound strange about that, but, you know, sometimes you feel this is just right.
 
H:
You’ve had experience working with other indigenous communities, and I feel that my concerns are how traditional concerns and ecological concerns come together.  Do you have any experience with that in your relationships with other indigenous communities?
 
D:
I’m a Miami girl.  I was born in Miami and I so feel a love for the Everglades, for the whole thing, for the ocean, for the bay.  It’s very easy to be supportive of the Everglades.  The other communities I’ve worked with – say Navajo, or Pueblo potters – they’re different from here.  This is where I’m from, and to me that is really important, to tell the story of where I was born.
 
H:
Well, around here these days, in the circles I visit, people are concerned about the Environment, Climate Change, and Justice.  What’s the role of Art in this context?
 
D:
Making people stop and look and think.  Art is a way to introduce people.  This is the Everglades, this is how beautiful it is, and we need to take care of that.  Protect it.  And I think it can be done visually, more than any other way.  Or as equally as writing about it.  But visually you see the beauty of it.  That makes people stop and think, “Wait this is important, we can’t let go of this.”  And that’s the role art plays.

Brief commentary by Houston R. Cypress, followed by the Miccosukee Tribe's letter to SFWMD.

The Miccosukee Tribe is very skeptical of the latest plans put forth by the South Florida Water Management District resulting from Florida Senator Joe Negron's SB10 legislation.

First, there's the blatant disregard of the consultation process with the people living in the area that will be impacted downstream of this reservoir project.

The Miccosukee Chairman goes on to describe discriminatory policies and practices that the Miccosukee community have suffered and fought back against through litigation.

The Tribe objects to water storage in the Everglades Agricultural Area and advocates for storage north of Lake Okeechobee.  One reason for this is that the Tribe wants to see the water cleaned up, and this reservoir doesn't address the water quality.

The Tribe also points out the inaccurate and incomplete data, as well as faulty reasoning, published by the South Florida Water Management District.  Averaging data distorts the picture.  Leaving out monitoring stations distorts the picture.

The Tribe points to similar, big-ticket projects like the elevation of the Tamiami Trail, as a waste of taxpayer dollars that aren't effective on the ground, and he's wary that this is more of the same.

Billy Cypress has articulated the on-going discrimination that his community has been suffering for decades and he feels that the SB10 Reservoir project is going to lead to further loss of cultural practices and the continued degradation of the River of Grass.

Download the Miccosukee Letter to SFWMD using the link below.
Some mobile browsers aren't supported.  If you can't access it from your mobile device, please use a laptop or desktop.

Brief commentary by Houston R. Cypress, followed by news links, and primary documents.

The Miccosukee Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA) is made up of 3 departments:

• Water Resources
• Fish & Wildlife
• Real Estate (Land Management).

In the past 35 years, the Miccosukee Community and MEPA have been working hard to record Traditional Ecological Knowledge and peer-reviewed data that is concerned with the environmental health of the Everglades.  The Miccosukee Tribe has been able to use their authority as a sovereign nation to promote and implement policies that aspire to a thriving Everglades.  There's still a long way to go.

One of the latest projects that MEPA has been working on for addressing Nonpoint Source Pollution on Tribal lands is finished.  The last step that the NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM PLAN goes through prior to being approved by the United States EPA is a public comment period.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD:
November 30th through December 30th, 2017.

My favorite parts are the Introduction, and the Appendices.  LOL

The intro has a great overview that tells the story of the Miccosukee interests in protecting the Everglades, and how providing a healthy environment for cultural practices benefits the broader South Florida community.  It discusses water management challenges in balancing demands from many communities, and points to opportunities for partnership and teamwork on multiple levels.

I liked the Appendices because of the pictures and charts.  It really helps you to comprehend a complex situation in one glance.  What are the ways that the Miccosukee community use and interact with the Everglades?  Just how bad is the water quality throughout the Everglades?  All of that and more are effectively illustrated with charts.

And also in the Appendices, you can find specific Best Management Practices clearly organized.

I'm including 2 news reports that provide additional context.  You'll also find a download link for the Miccosukee Document, followed by the text from the Miccosukee Community Notice that was published a few days ago.

March 3, 2017 -- Miami Herald
"Water Managers Declare Everglades Nearly Clean; the People who live there say Not Yet"
Read more here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article136361188.html

September 25, 2017 -- Project Earth
"Of Sparrows and Men:  Native Culture and Extinction in the River of Grass"
Watch video here:
http://projectearth.us/of-sparrows-and-men-native-culture-and-extinction-in-t-1818732928 

Download the Miccosukee Document using the link below.
Some mobile browsers aren't supported.  If you can't access it from your mobile device, please use a laptop or desktop.

COMMUNITY NOTICE
 
REQUEST FOR REVIEW OF:
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM PLAN
Posted: November 30, 2017
 
The Miccosukee Tribe’s Water Resources Department has prepared a draft of the Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program Plan, which is available for public review during normal business hours, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, except legal holidays, at the Miccosukee Water Resources Department (2nd Floor of the Administration Building). Interested parties may request copies and submit comments by using the contact information below.
 
Public Comment Period: November 30th through December 30th, 2017

Julian Douglas, Environmental Specialist
juliand@miccosukeetribe.com
(305) 223-8380 Ext. 2223

Comments may also be delivered through the U.S. Mail to:

Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida
Water Resources Department, Attention: Julian Douglas
P.O. Box 440021, Tamiami Station
Miami, Florida 33144. 

by Rebecca Coughlin,
​Photographer & Activist.

Some of us do not always think of Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge in Palm Beach County as part of the Everglades, however, it is in fact the last intact portion of the northern Everglades.  Sadly, this refuge, established in 1951, is currently facing the threat of destruction.  It occupies 143,954 acres of land owned by the state as Water Conservation Area 1 and is the second largest national wildlife refuge in Florida.  A 50 year lease agreement, renewed in 2002, between South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) gives maintenance responsibility to USFWS.  At renewal time, thirteen performance measures were put in place.  Of those 13, USFWS was able to meet 12.5 of the measures.  They will not be able to meet the requirement to completely eradicate Melaleuca and Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium) by 2017.  The unique character of the refuge, particularly with its many tree islands, makes access to the areas most in need of care difficult and complicates removal of invasives more than just about any other area.  Not only is this the lone agreement of its kind in the state, but SFWMD has not been able to completely eradicate Lygodium from other holdings either, which makes it appear that the refuge is being singled out.

As a result of failing to fully meet the lygodium eradication requirement, SFWMD is threatening to revoke the lease and take over management of the refuge.  If this happens, there is a real possibility the land would be used to store polluted water discharged from Lake Okeechobee, flooding the refuge’s 5 distinct habitats, including tree islands and destroying the environment frequented by 250 species of birds, butterflies, deer, raccoons, river otters, bobcats, and countless reptiles and amphibians.  2016 saw a wading bird colony of over 7,000 nests, illustrating some of the value of this area.  Many of the creatures living on the refuge are endangered or threatened species.  Flooding the land with phosphorus-laden water would change the entire system and alter the habitat needed to sustain wildlife.  The priority for SFWMD would be water management, not protection and management of wildlife.
​
In addition to flooding the land with polluted water and destroying habitat, water management use of the land would very likely take away this precious opportunity to educate the 5,000 children who visit the refuge for structured science and environmental education, allowing them to learn about the Everglades and prompting many of them to become proactive in helping to protect it and inspiring some to pursue environmental studies.  Along those same lines, the refuge attracts 300,000 visitors a year, also allowing them to admire the wonders of the Everglades and to take an interest in preserving it while bringing jobs and tourist dollars to the area.  Additionally, loss of the refuge would deprive countless Florida residents the use of this part of the Everglades for recreational purposes, such as hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, and exploring the environment. 

Along with the loss of this unique setting, SFWMD’s limited financial capabilities and loss of federal funding through USFWS to maintain it would likely result in an added burden to Florida taxpayers.

Several organizations, included Audubon, Sierra Club, and Bullsugar.org are actively participating in trying to find a better solution, such as allowing the lease to continue and having SFWMD, USFWS, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and other agencies work together.  More Florida residents are becoming involved as they are made aware of this impending threat.

On Monday, December 5, 2016 a community forum sponsored by Audubon Florida was held at FAU Pine Jog Environmental Education Center in West Palm Beach.  A panel with representatives from Florida Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Discover the Palm Beaches (tourism), Wellington Community High School, National Wildlife Refuge Association, and Audubon of the Everglades shared information and heard concerns and ideas from citizens.  There was much enthusiasm and plans for action to further inform the public and to alert all involved agencies, including Governor Rick Scott, of the distress it would cause the Everglades, the refuge, and the public to have the USFWS lease revoked. Future activities will be announced soon.

Today, December 8, 2016 a rally was held at the SFWMD Headquarters in West Palm Beach to express support of Florida Senate President Joe Negron’s plan to buy land to store and clean water in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA).  It was attended by approximately 75 people representing the Sierra Club, River Warriors, the refuge, and others.  There was media coverage from several sources, including WPEC (CBS) and WPBF (ABC).  Speakers expressed outrage over the condition of water from Lake Okeechobee discharges and directed Rick Scott and pertinent agencies to buy the land south of the lake instead of discharging to the east and west coasts or into the Everglades through the refuge.
​
The refuge is, indeed, part of the Everglades.  It provides a magnificent opportunity to expose residents and visitors to this truly unique gem.  The more people know about the Everglades, the more they will love it and want to protect it.  Here is an opportunity for all of us who love the Everglades to work together and present a united front to state agencies and the governor, declaring that we will not let it be taken apart piece by piece and destroyed. 

Statement by Mr. Bobby C. Billie dated 9/5/16.

9/5/16       Statement by  Bobby C. Billie, Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal Peoples, the Original Nation.

The Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal Peoples, the Original Nation has great concern what they are going to do to us, and the Natural Areas, Natural Systems, and Wildlife with this so-called Sabal Trail Pipeline,

We have a prophesy telling us what is going to happen in the future.  Today is the Future what the Elders were talking about.

Since the discovery of oil and gas, they have been drilling and pumping gas and oil, or drilling for water or digging up rock and minerals from pits, or digging for gold, diamonds, or other so-called precious stones.  These actions are changing the Layer of the Earth or Layer of the different Energies of the Earth, and changes also occur after they get it out, and they are in the Air, which means, burning of oil and gas in power plants, burning of gas in vehicles, and airplanes, and in different industries - creating a so-called economy that is destroying the Future of the younger unborn human peoples’ needs.

If you are a parent, grandma, mother, aunt, brother or sister, uncle, father or grandpa, you should not let these things happen - just because you need money.

Lot of those so-called rich people need their big corporations.  How much money do they have to have in order to become human beings because what the Creator (God) has said: Do not kill, do not lie, do not steal, but that is what most rich people and big corporations are doing.

Aboriginal Indigenous Peoples understand that the Creator’s (God’s) Creation is more important than the dollars. If, we do not disturb the Natural Creations, the Natural Life, which is who we are, and do what he has said to us: Love and Take Care of All Things, and Respect me, you will live longer in my Creation which is Earth.

Sometimes Aboriginal Indigenous Peoples say the Mother Earth, which means, to us, like taking care of your Mother.  When you are younger, when you are first born, you are helpless and your mother will take care of you, feed you, wash you, and will always give, all that she can give, to help you grow to be healthy.

This Mother Earth, we call her, if we do not abuse her, she will give us the food, the Water, and will give us the healthy children, and healthy young unborn ones yet to come.  But, the Mother Earth has been abused so long, and the Mother Earth needs our help especially from the so-called rich people, who have always been abusing the Mother Earth, they need to put their money back into the Healing process of the Mother Earth.  Because more and more disturbances are taking place, even now, lot of us are struggling, but also, a lot of people do not feel it because most of the people just stay in their own little world inside the buildings, but if you go out and look, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist or expert to see the World of Life is in trouble – Floods, heavy winds, fires, mudslides, earthquakes, all kinds of new threats to survival on Mother Earth.

​There are many things to be said, but you need to take a look and see, that the Sabal Trail Pipeline is another problem, another human creation that must be stopped.  The mothers and the fathers must wake up and say NO.

Contact:  Ancientrees@hotmail.com      904-654-0200

by Robin Haines Merrill,
Coordination Circle, Love The Everglades Movement;
Curator, Upper Room Art Gallery.

ABOUT THE DESIGN CONCEPT:

From the Everglades to the ocean, water connects us all.  Underneath our feet, in the fragile aquifer of South Florida, water runs through limestone and supplies our daily needs.  In Fort Lauderdale, we are surrounded by canals, rivers, swamps, Intercoastal waterways and the ocean.  These painted intersection designs are an imaginary glimpse of what it might look like if we cut out the asphalt of the intersection.  It’s a traffic calming measure, but also a request to respect the water that surrounds us, seen and unseen.

The crosswalks reflect the vintage architecture of the local area, a retro review of styles and colors from the past that make us truly unique.

I’d like to invite you to participate in a community art event in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, May 15, 2016.
 
The City of Fort Lauderdale is part of a growing movement in cities across America that engages communities in public safety projects using artistic methods. This project was made possible in part through an "Art of Community" grant from the Community Foundation of Broward.
 
On Sunday, May 15th, the public will be painting in the Crosswalk sections of the design.  The center water design will be completed at a later date. Our hope is that this public artwork will help make the community safer and more mindful of traffic safety for all.
 
You can learn more about the PAINTED INTERSECTIONS PROJECTS by visiting the City’s website here:
 
http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/2936/2312?backlist=%2F
 
http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/departments/transportation-and-mobility/transportation-division/building-community-today/painted-intersections-project

by Houston R. Cypress, Coordination Circle,
Love The Everglades Movement.

On June 22, 2015, the Miccosukee Tribe submitted Initial Comments that begin to explain some of their major concerns regarding the so-called "River Of Grass Greenway" project -- a 76-mile, multi-use, asphalt bike path that is proposed to extend from East Naples to West Miami along the Tamiami Trail, as it cuts through protected lands, National Parks, State Parks, and other areas that are sacred and culturally-sensitive to the indigenous sovereignties known as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal Peoples.

In their Initial Comments letter, the Miccosukee Tribe requests an extension of the Public Comment period because the amount of time originally given is insufficient to adequately translate and convey the message to the Community Elders -- many of whom do not read or write in the English language.

Some other concerns include the following:

• Negative Cultural Impacts;
• Risk of exposure of Miccosukee cultural, historical, and archaeological resources to loss, theft, and vandalism;
• Invasion of Privacy;
• Negative Wetland and Habitat Impacts;
• ROGG fails to adequately address how the bike path might influence the Spread of Exotic Species;
• Use of herbicides to maintain grass strips impacting Native Species;
• Water Quality Impacts;
• Miccosukee Tribal lands have stringent Water Quality Standards which Must Be Met;
• Water Quality Certification Responsibility;
• Miccosukee Tribe sees no reasonable alternative that do not impact Tribal lands or waters and therefore will deny Water Quality Certification for any portion of the project within Miccosukee jurisdiction;
• Health & Safety Concerns;
• ROGG places more demands on the limited fire resources of the National Park Service;
• ROGG will also divert fire rangers and and fire management resources from saving lives.

The Miccosukee Tribe also goes on to enumerate the many laws that must be followed.

• All Applicable Laws Must Be Followed, including:
• National Environmental Policy Act;
• Endangered Species Act;
• Federal Advisory Committee Act;
• Clean Water Act;
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA);
• Big Cypress Enabling Act;
• Big Cypress National Preserve 2014 Superintendent's Compendium;
• Miccosukee Reserved Area Act;

Quote from the letter:
"The ROGG Draft Plan does not comply with all applicable laws, does not meet the requirements of NEPA, and does not comply with Tribal policies and practices."

Outside of the scope of the letter, I would like to remind folks what a separate indigenous sovereignty has been saying for quite sometime.  I'm referring to Bobby C. Billie of the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal Peoples.  One of the messages that he's been repeating is that burial sites would be disturbed if this project were to move forward.  He's been reluctant to specifically identify the locations of these burial sites.  I empathize, because I know very well how the sacred and holy can be open to violation, parody, or satire, once this information becomes public knowledge.  His concerns are definitely serious enough that they would have NAGPRA implications.  A lot of times, though, these areas are a taboo subject for public discourse, and that also complicates matters

I would personally like to take this time to remind the public of the difficult and contentious histories that indigenous communities across this continent have had with colonial powers, and governments like the USA.  Treaties signed and disregarded, broken promises, genocidal policies, forced removals of children, forced relocation of communities, wartime atrocities, assimilation policies, prohibitions on freedom of religion.  And yet, our indigenous communities have also found shining moments of cooperation, collaboration, and mutually-beneficial accords which contribute to the revitalization of indigenous communities and strengthened sovereignty.

There is a way forward where parties on all sides can express respect and appreciation for each other's customs and ways of life.  And what we must first do is pause, and listen, and reflect.  So let's take this opportunity to listen to and appreciate what this particular indigenous sovereignty is saying about how negatively this project will impact a way of life that has already been threatened by massive and prolonged environmental degradation.

And what is it about this particular way of life that is so special and unique that they are using all legal, moral, and spiritual avenues to express their concerns?

Well, in my opinion, it's about a garden, it's about a cooking fire, it's about the stories told at night by family and friends, it's about the stars twinkling overhead, it's about that Milky Way above, it's about knowing your place in the Universe.  It's about healing, and balance, and songs.

Read the Initial Comments by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida below.  (Document only visible on laptop or desktop computer.  Click the icon in the lower-right corner to read the document Full Screen.)

by Jean Sarmiento, Coordination Circle,
Love The Everglades Movement

What we’re doing in the Everglades:

• efforts to raise awareness;
  
• get people involved;
  
• thru their own media;
  
• the Responsibility belongs with us all;
  
• being here and supporting our Indigenous brothers and sisters.
  

There are parallels that exist throughout the world.

In Northern California, for example, the Indian Nations there that are going through the same struggles, now amplified by the States Drought.

So we do our part here in South Florida contributing to the well-being of our Environment. The further into the future we go the more prevalent the issue of Water will become and we see it already in more and more publications. http://www.nationofchange.org/2014/11/18/water-wars-21st-century/

"It is easier to flush toxins from the river valleys than to remove toxic ideas that cause them from human minds. In the order of healing, it is human consciousness that must first change." 
- Ken Carey, Return of the Bird Tribes

And as far as I’m concerned healing and recycling are the biggest jobs.

We are ALL made of this Water, whether you like it or not.  And because of that, this Water ties us all together.  And so it is through these Waters that we can transmit and deliver this message of Love – appreciation penetrating the very core of our beings

This Love is the highest principle of cohesion and surely trumps any draconian system of control we are under. Allow this force to be our guiding light.

May the boundaries that impede humanity be dissolved!

And on the Strength and Authority of Universal Law we act to steer this planet to its deserved harmonious state. 

by Mary Jo Aagerstoun, Ph.D.

I can see the quizzical looks and the raised eyebrows.  Artists are engaged with the real ecological threats we are facing, aren’t they/we?   Artists across our region are documenting disappearing wild areas, animals and plants in installations, paintings, photographs and videos on the walls of universities, museums, funky art spaces and high end profit center galleries alike.  Artists are hitting the art neighborhoods like Wynnwood and the Boynton Beach Art District, with strident guerrilla and commissioned street art admonishing us to change our profligate ways.   Artists are often in leadership of activist groups, creating stunning images, banners and signs for demonstrations.  So what are you talking about, you say! Artists are out there doing it!

And so you/they are. And thank you for that.

But, to stay relevant to the crises besetting us in the South Florida region, there is nothing like being willing to entertain a little criticism and self-criticism.  This is what I offer here.

I believe the time is now to get much more strategic and tactical about how we deploy art activism.  We need the whole spectrum from the quieter, slower EcoArt to the high profile, high energy pranks and hijinx of the YES MEN.  And we need to learn how to do them, as well as when and where for greatest effect and impact on the public.

For seven years I have worked through the organization I founded, EcoArt South Florida, to promote site specific art interventions into ecological damage.   We searched out opportunities for local artists to create eco-positive artworks that engaged science, engineering and community engagement as well as more traditional visual means like scale, color, texture and more. 

About a year ago, I started looking at some very uncomfortable realities …sea rise and climate change… and I began to be convinced there was a strong need for a different kind of activism.  Something that matches the urgency of our situation, as the oceans rise and the air becomes hotter.

This does not mean I think the EcoArt I have worked hard to help establish in our region is no longer relevant.  I believe it is vitally important to produce EcoArt direct intervention projects as models of what a sustainable presence of humans on this planet can and must become.  I consider these EcoArt works to be “slow activism” and intrinsically valuable.

The term “slow activism" was coined by British theorist Wallace Heim who has proposed that some of the most effective art interventions are consciously designed to proceed slowly: “…in the time it takes to engage in conversation…”  A great example of “slow activism” as “conversation” is the human-generated trophic cascade that occurred with the reintroduction of the wolf into Yellowstone National Park.  This intervention was not EcoArt, it was a straight science action, but it shows what can happen when a species long gone from an ecosystem reenters it, and by human design.  Soon after the wolf was reintroduced, aspen, cottonwood and willow, that had been all but extirpated, began to reestablish.  Why?  Because wolves were eating the elk, and therefore not as many elk were foraging on those trees, allowing small trees of these species to proliferate.  Trophic cascade as conversation between natural systems and human intervention was occurring!

In each of the EcoArt projects completed we can point to such “conversation” occurring, a kind of call and response between ecosystem crises, human (art) intervention and ecological response:  EcoArt as slow activism!!  EcoArt projects in this mode of activism teach, show, demonstrate and engage -- at a conversational pace.  They are tacitly critical of common eco-negative practices that have gotten us in the trouble we are in. They point the way, and gently point the finger.

But today, in this space Love the Everglades Movement has so generously provided, I want to urge all of us, especially artists, to engage a different kind of activism.  While EcoArt’s slow activist conversations with ecologies in crisis take place on one stage -- ecological restoration art as slow activism performance -- we also need to take assertive action on another stage -- the doorsteps of the entities causing the ecological damage.  We need actions that continue, expand and localize mobilizations like the impressive Climate Action event last September in NYC.

I am convinced what we need now here in South Florida is a tactical art activism that emphasizes irony and humor while burning indelible images into public consciousness, amplifying the information and warnings from our scientists and backing up the legal strategies of our advocates, with careful forethought and planning.  And, a basis in theories generated by some of the most interesting minds to focus on effective direct action and advocacy.

Tactical is the operative word.  Two of my favorite theorists come to mind:  the Chicana feminist thinker Chela Sandoval, and the Argentine born anthropologist Néstor Garcia Canclini.  I propose we consider their advice for how to engage a tactical art activism in the current context in which we find ourselves.

Sandoval’s concept of tactical activism is elaborated in her classic book Methodology of The Oppressed.  This is the concept of the “differential.”  Sandoval’s construct of “the differential” is not unlike the differential in the manual transmission of a car – it is the mechanism that allows gears to shift based on changing terrain; it is what makes the car adaptable.  Like the now old-fashioned stick shift, Sandoval asserts that contemporary activists can be more effective by being knowledgeable about and prepared to use multiple methods in their pursuit of social change.  They must have “differential consciousness” and engage in “differential social movement” that allow them to shift “gears” deftly from one approach to another.  In an environment of rapidly morphing political threats, it is not enough to use one method or pursue a single, unvarying strategy; today’s effective art activist must be prepared with a toolkit of diverse methods and a tactical mindset.

My other favorite theorist to whom I recommend we look for advice is Néstor Garcia Canclini.  In his 1995 book Hybrid Cultures: Strategies for Entering and Leaving Modernity, Canclini argues that politicized art gestures cannot, by themselves, lead to real change.  Canclini proposes that art should be deployed in situations calling for change as “performances” which represent and simulate political action in sync with other politically transformative energies, but on different stages at the same time.

Keeping Sandoval and Canclini in mind, then, I would like to introduce several examples of current art activism that tactically deploy both the “differential” and the “performative,” are directly engaged with environmental crises, and operate in sync with politically transformative energies in the culture.

In May 1982 ecofeminist artist Hélène Aylon created the “Earth Ambulance” that she took on a road trip to US Strategic Air Command bases, to “rescue” earth, metaphorically, from the threat of nuclear war.  (See slide show) Aylon collected soil samples at each site, in pillowcases inscribed with women’s accounts of their dreams and nightmares about atomic holocaust.  Aylon transported them in her retrofitted “ambulance” (a converted U-Haul van) to a mass disarmament rally at the United Nations on June 12, 1982.  The earth-filled pillowcases were carried on army stretchers down the steps of Ralph Bunche Park, across the street from the United Nations complex.

Over the next decades, Aylon carried out related Earth Ambulance projects in the Soviet Union, Japan and Israel as well as the United States.  The original Earth Ambulance has been decommissioned from active travel, and is reconstituted as a permanent exhibit at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in Peekskill.  Viewers are invited to sit inside the ambulance, which is outfitted as a kind of meditation space, decked with photographs and video documentation of several previous Earth Ambulance projects.

The YES MEN are a dynamic prankster art duo who specialize in satirical performances, impersonating corporate lackeys and fooling journalists.  They began pranking in the 1990s, and, in addition to their ongoing hilarious hijinx, have a passel of books and films, and an action network and planning instruction YES LAB to their credit.  They also teach activist performance in prestigious NY institutions.  Their real names are Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonnano, names that seem so fake they decided to create other names for their YES MEN personae--Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos--just to confuse people. 

In a recent prank, the YES MEN crashed a Homeland Security Congress in Washington DC, attended by government contractors, lobbyists and officials, including a retired Navy Admiral, a retired USAF general, a former Seal team leader, and an aspiring Republican Congressional candidate. 

Their performance consisted of:

• A stirring announcement of a fictitious new US government plan, the "American Renewable Clean-Energy Network" (AmeriCAN), to convert the US to 100% renewable energy by 2030.  The completely false, but also completely doable new energy initiative would redirect oil company tax breaks and subsidies to support renewables; commit to "Manhattan Project-level" Defense spending on conversion to renewables in order to prevent future climate-change-related conflicts; and partner with Native American nations whose lands could provide all of our renewable energy needs.  The announcement was interrupted repeatedly by audience applause.
  
  The announcement was made by the (allegedly) US Department of Energy's "Benedict Waterman" (Andy Bichlbaum ) wearing a page boy grey wig recalling the hairdo of the recently appointed Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.  The wig was made especially for the occasion by RuPaul’s wigmaker.
  

Besides the Yes Men, Crazyboy, and Ybarra, participants in this project included members of Idle No More, and several other groups.  The action occurred just a few days after the Cowboys and Indians Alliance rally against the Keystone XL pipeline.

I consider the YES MEN to be the sine qua non of the super-sophisticated, brainy end of the artistic activism spectrum.  They do their homework.  They craft their hijinx carefully to gain maximum exposure in all corporate “news” media, create and circulate films in traditional venues, and for free online, and take full advantage of social media’s viral effects.  They utilize satire, shaming and wild humor, turning the real life ridiculousness of huge international corporations’ poisonous actions, responsible for our many environmental and human tragedy crises, against them.  They fund all this successfully with crowdsourcing, and have a team of probono lawyers ready to respond to lawsuits.  That they now focus almost all their efforts on their YES LAB, teaching others how to incorporate these kinds of approaches in their local efforts means this is a resource I hope we can’t refuse to use! 

Light Brigades are popping up all over the country.  A little film about their work is part of PBS’s Online Film festival…see it here.  This activist art intervention began in Wisconsin during the “Wisconsin Uprising” that sought to recall the Republican Governor Scott Walker.  While the recall did not succeed, the approach did!  The Wisconsin originators of the “Overpass Light Brigade” describe who they are and what they do:  “Our messages shine over highways at night.  We believe in the power of communities coming together in physical space, as well as the importance of visibility for grassroots and progressive causes.  We are a loose and inclusive affiliation of people dedicated to the power of peaceful and playful protest.”  Since the initial overpass displays on bridges spanning Wisconsin freeways, the approach is spreading rapidly across the country and are added to the OLB website as they emerge.  Detailed instructions on how to create the illuminated letters that spell out OLB messages are here.

Like The Illuminator, Light Brigades are highly mobile, placing illuminated messages at targeted locations, appearing and disappearing quickly.  Events are photographed, and have a longer life via postings on social media.  There are several points at which individual community members can engage in Light Brigades, including planning and strategizing for where the Lighted Messages should appear, development of the slogans, creating, maintaining and storing the lighted letters, and holding the messages at targeted locations, as well as keeping social media updated as events unfold.  Costs are relatively low, so this explains why so many brigades are appearing across the country, as opposed to Illumination projections, which do require a major investment in 10,000 lumen (minimum) projectors.

The Rude Mechanical Orchestra is a 30-odd-piece radical marching band and dance troupe.  They are for hire, and play protests, demonstrations, direct actions, picket lines, marches, benefits and events for good causes.  They say:  “We’ve played protesting union-busters and tip-garnishers, gentrifiers and privatizers, xenophobes, homophobes, and a host of other big uglies.  We’ve worked with groups like Time’s Up, the Restaurant Opportunity Center of New York, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and the War Resisters League.  We’ve played community events around town and beyond, like the Queens Pride Parade, the Mermaid Parade, the East Village Roving Garden Party, Philadelphia’s Spiral Q Peoplehood Parade, and Boston’s Honk Festival.”  The group originated in the early 1990s, and has emerged and reemerged depending on need.  The most active orchestra operates in NYC, and there are new ones currently emerging in several other cities.  A typical set might include “a spritz of klezmer, some Balkan and Brazilian notes, plenty of funk, some Latin beats, a little jazz and an El Tigre cover, all of it served up with a patina of punk.”  They don’t do Sousa marches.  Here’s a sample from their gig at the big Climate Action March in NYC in September 2014! 

Music is so important to activism, and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra provides a mobile alternative to the stationary concert which often is expensive, discourages those not actively playing in the band from participating directly, and obviously cannot be deployed at fraught locations such as the headquarters of oil companies.  Activist musicians in the orchestra also point out that “To be effectively loud on New York streets, you usually need a loudspeaker, and to use a loudspeaker, you need a permit from the NYPD. If you’re planning on playing loud instruments, however, no such limitation exists, and this has made the RMO an essential ingredient in many impromptu demonstrations.”  TMO is a great example of the tactical wisdom of figuring out ahead of time what needs and what does not need a permit! And acting accordingly! 

The group runs Localize THIS camps (video), coaches communities on creating actions and offers training in:  Non Violent Direct Action 101, Creative Tactics For Visibility & Building Power. Giant Banner Building & Overpass Bannering, Flashmob Training, Projection As Protest, Light Brigade Training, Climb Training & Tripods, Blockade Training, Papier Mache Puppetry building.  Backbone pays special attention to “Security Training which shows would be activists how to stay two steps ahead of the authorities, versus two steps behind in paranoia.  Covers the basics of creating and implementing security within the group when engaged in an action, as well as in offices, homes, personal lives, and on computers.”  Lots of online action kits as well!

Along with the YES LAB and Beautiful Trouble, the vibrant Backbone Project not only plans and carries out their own artistic activism related specifically to local issues in Washington State, but they also provide assistance to other groups locally in Seattle and other WA cities, and elsewhere, both coaching actual actions on site, and training groups to do their own actions.  One very impressive offering is assistance with personal and group security, very much needed when activist art is introduced in contested public spaces.  Backbone also personifies the Sandoval prescription that activists become proficient in advance planning and the use of a wide range of approaches, tailored to specific on site requirements.  A new Backbone emphasis will be to develop a program to prepare CSOs (Community Supported Organizers) in local areas, based on the model of Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs).

Beautiful Trouble also has a corps of experienced trainers for hire.  The trainers available through the Beautiful Trouble network are both artists and activists. Recently Beautiful Trouble spun off a new initiative:  Beautiful Solutions!  As they point out, “Resistance is essential, but it is not enough.  As we fight injustice around us, we also have to imagine – and create – the world we want.  We have to build real alternatives in the here and now –alternatives that are not only living proof that things can be done differently, but that actively challenge, and eventually supplant, the power of the status quo.”

I end this discussion of a selection of the best of the best activist art initiatives currently available with Beautiful Trouble and Beautiful Solutions.  As concept and ongoing resource, these twin entities speak eloquently to what two of my favorite theorists, Chela Sandoval and Canclini pointed to almost two decades ago. Beautiful Trouble and Beautiful Solutions demonstrate the effectiveness of acknowledging, utilizing and distributing the best theoretical thinking and the best examples of intelligent, creative, strategic resistance visioning and deployment. 

I look forward to working with many of you to address what needs to be confronted, and what needs to be dreamed into existence here in South Florida.  There is so much that can and should be done to which all our innovative, artistic and creative thinking and action must be directed.


— Mary Jo Aagerstoun