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 Quese IMC and Cempoalli 20,
from their album OSAHWUH.

"The Raven" is a single from the album "OSAHWUH" -- by Quese IMC & Cempoalli 20 -- and the album was released in April of 2013 at the Gathering of Nations Powwow.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/osahwuh (Link)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/osahwuh/id647390566 (Link)

The song and the album unites the creative fires of these 2 musical artists -- an evocative and inspirational blend of Indigenous Hip Hop and Turtle Island Reggae.

THE RAVEN music video was born out of an encounter between QUESE IMC, Cempoalli 20 and Houston Cypress deep in the Florida Everglades -- the historic homeland and refuge of the Micccosukee and Seminole people.

The musical artists were visiting the Miccosukee community sharing a message with the youth which emphasized the importance of cultural integrity and maintaining traditions, a healthy and drug-free lifestyle, and how the artistic process can contribute to their personal growth.

"The music video," says Quese IMC, "is about the importance of Earth and how we connect to the Earth and how Earth makes us want to move, jump, dance." He goes on to explain, "people are polluting the Everglades and it is sacred to us."

The locations featured in the video include the following:

- Water Conservation Area 3A -- otherwise known as the Central Everglades, or the River of Grass;
- Otter Clan village on the Miccosukee Reservation;
- Graffiti walls in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami, Florida;
- 7th Circuit Studios, home of the Moksha Family Arts Collective, in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Florida.

THE RAVEN emerges from the fire, bringing with it a message that unifies different communities, and restores balance to the land and our lives through the power of spirit-infused artistic expressions.

Houston Cypress: "It was important for us to show the grassy waters of the Florida Everglades, and to film in the Otter Clan Village of the Miccosukee Reservation because the poor water quality and the high water levels have a direct and negative impact on the Miccosukee & Seminole way of life. Flooding causes the trees that hold the islands together to drown, and without the root system to hold the islands together, the tree islands literally dissolve. So much life depends on the vitality of the Tree Islands: the plants, the animals, even the Miccosukee society of clans. So, because of this dissolution of the tree islands, you can say that we are losing our roots."

Houston Cypress, Executive Producer of the music video, explains about his production company, "Otter Vision, Inc., explores themes of Culture, History and Environment in all the various projects and formats that I get involved in, whether it's audio-visual forms for film, television, or video. Events, festivals, experimental projects, activism, or spirituality -- it's all concerned with creating 'Portals Between Worlds' and 'Contributing to the Global Discussion' -- these are my creative and spiritual manifestos."

Assisting in the production process, Felipe Marrou with VTM Productions brings decades of experience, with projects distributed on major networks, and for a variety of corporate clients.

Dudley Alexis of Epyllion Films, LLC, oversaw the post-production process. He collaborated with animator Jean Sarmiento to manifest the characters "Buffalo Boy" and "The Raven," based on creative discussions with QUESE IMC and Cempoalli 20.

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

The Everglades Caucus recently issued a letter to the US Department of the Interior, the US Department of the Army for the Army Corp of Engineers, and the US Environmental Protection Agency, bringing attention to an on-going and immediate environmental threat to the Everglades:  the L-28 Interceptor Canal -- a canal that brings "dirty water" with high levels of phosphorus onto Federal Reservation Lands.

The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida maintain traditional villages -- which they use for a number of cultural practices -- in the area that is directly and negatively impacted by this farm runoff.  In fact, their access to sacred sites become impeded by the proliferation of flora spurred by the fertilizer runoff.

The image at the top of this document illustrates the impact of high and unnatural levels of Phosphorus on the Everglades terrain.  The green areas are the dense overgrowth of cattails and other plants.

The Miccosukee concerns surrounding the L-28 Interceptor Canal are coinciding with a broader discussion on Everglades Restoration, especially as it relates to current events surrounding the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP).

CEPP is concerned with delivering "New Water" through a series of projects that would bring water from Lake Okeechobee south to Everglades National Park.  As these projects come online over the next decade, there is still the glaring refusal to address the 40% of the total waters coming into the system brought by the L-28 Interceptor Canal.

Today, Miccosukee homelands are being sacrificed for the benefit of Everglades National Park -- as if the Everglades eco-system is limited to the boundaries of the National Park.  As the waters coming into Water Conservation Area 3A make their slow journey south, the high Phosphorus levels are filtered out significantly -- and what this means is that Miccosukee homelands are functioning as a de facto Stormwater Treatment Area.

The Everglades Caucus are not only honoring their Trust Responsibility to the Indigenous Sovereingty, but they are also honoring their commitment to the American Public by speaking up to protect these vital natural resources.

Signatories for the Everglades Caucus include:

• Mario Diaz-Balart
• Alcee Hastings
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz
• Patrick Murphy
• Ted Deutch
• Joe Garcia
• Lois Frankel
• Frederica Wilson

Read the letter in its entirety:

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

One of our objectives for the Movement is to advocate for respect of Miccosukee Sovereignty.  This is because the Miccosukee Tribe is one of the few communities who actually live in the Florida Everglades -- so they witness, everyday, the effects of environmental degradation.

By listening to and incorporating the Miccosukee message into our Everglades Advocacy, we begin to do the work of Environmental Justice and express our solidarity with this indigenous community.

The Miccosukee community has a Way of Life that is intimately connected with the vitality of the natural world -- indeed, their philosophy is expressed in a beautiful symbol that is maintained in the heart of every village -- the Circle of Life.

The Miccosukee Tribe has also been an important catalyst for much of the progress achieved so far regarding Everglades Restoration.  This is due in large part to the greater legal framework and promises made by the US Federal Government to the indigenous sovereignties, known as the Federal Trust Responsibility.  Although the historical record reminds us that there has been much discord between the United States and the sovereign indigenous communities of this continent, we can also find evidence of great friendship and prosperity.  So we look forward to honoring our friendships with the Miccosukee community and how we can build on that to achieve environmental/Everglades goals that benefit everyone -- including the people that live there.

Recently, the Miccosukee Chairman, Hon. Colley Billie, addressed the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee during the Public Witness Hearing on Native American Issues.

Chairman Colley Billie's statement was concerned with Everglades matters, and it's such a revealing statement about Miccosukee concerns for the Everglades, that it's worth sharing in its entirety.