In the heart of the Miccosukee, the Native American tribe that shut down Alligator Alcatraz

[cbabe]

https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-08-25/in-the-heart-of-the-miccosukee-the-native-american-tribe-that-shut-down-alligator-alcatraz.html

In the heart of the Miccosukee, the Native American tribe that shut down Alligator Alcatraz

The community found refuge from white persecution deep in the Everglades swamps centuries ago. Together with environmental groups, they succeeded in forcing the closure of the immigration detention center built on their ancestral lands

ABEL FERNÁNDEZ
Miami - AUG 25, 2025 - 05:59 EDT

When tourists wearing Alligator Alcatraz T-shirts walked into the Miccosukee Indian Village crafts shop in Florida last week, Troy Sanders, a 35-year-old member of the tribe who works as a museum guide, felt anger. “There are people on the side of the road selling T-shirts that say Alligator Alcatraz. And then other people come into the store thinking it’s okay, saying hello, being friendly. They have a huge disconnect from what this all means to us. The Everglades [the vast swamp ecosystem west of Miami] is meant for our tribes, to protect life, to safeguard it. Not to stop it,” Sanders says.

…

Before having to settle in the Everglades permanently, the Miccosukee were already very familiar with the inhospitable wetlands, as they had been their hunting grounds for millennia. In the most intricate stretch of the river grass that stretches out of sight to the flat horizon, each family or clan settled on a “tree island,” where the ground was high enough to live. There they set up the chickee cooking hut, a kind of open-sided, palm-thatched hut where they kept a perpetual fire. “Every family here, every clan, can more or less trace their lineage back hundreds of years to a tree island,” Sanders notes. Today, although they don’t live there, the tree islands remain the site of traditional ceremonies and are attended by each family.

A map of the tree islands is part of the evidence presented in court against Alligator Alcatraz. Witnesses warned that the detention center directly threatens 80% of the tribe’s homes, two schools, and the tribal government building, according to court documents. They also indicated that wastewater could contaminate wetlands and affect the region’s water supply, as well as placing endangered species like the Florida panther at risk. They also argued that noise, traffic, and lights disturb wildlife and cut off access to traditional hunting and gathering sites. The ruling by federal judge Kathleen Williams sided with them and emphasized that any habitat damage constitutes direct harm to the tribe, whose identity is linked to the Everglades.

… more …

[Joinfortmill]

1. So glad the judge ruled on this. Keep fighting for your rights. Goddammit, this pisses me off.

[electric_blue68]

2. Hopefullly the protection will continue! ....

The tree islands; how interesting!