How Nature's Filtration System Protects Water, Life, and Culture
About this episode
Betty Osceola discusses the importance of the Everglades and environmental justice from an Indigenous perspective.
Betty Osceola (Miccosukee, Panther Clan) grounds us in the spectacular land and life of the Everglades in this visit with host Kahstoserakwathe. She explains how the region’s natural filtration system protects fresh water for millions, carries cultural memory for the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, and sustains plant, animal, and water relatives. Betty is well known for her prayer walks that became especially urgent when the cruelty of the “ Alligator Alcatraz ” outdoor immigrant detention camp surfaced last summer on traditional homelands in South Florida, and her research is instrumental in ongoing lawsuits around the facility. She says our struggle for equitable treatment cannot be separated from the health and well-being of the natural world. Betty spent decades living what environmental justice looks like from an Indigenous perspective: caring for water as kin, community mobilization as a responsibility, and finding joy in walking, guiding, laughing, and listening. She asks us to consider how we reconnect to our own sources of care and to show up when the land says it needs us. This conversation is a clear invitation to walk our lands and raise our voices to…
People in this episode
Host: Kahstoserakwathe
Guest: Betty Osceola
Topics covered
- environmental justice
- Indigenous perspective
- Everglades conservation
- cultural memory
- water protection
- community mobilization
Keywords
- Everglades
- environmental justice
- Indigenous
- water protection
- cultural memory
- community mobilization
- prayer walks
- health and well-being
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida
Places: Everglades, South Florida, Alligator Alcatraz
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- Holding Institutions Accountable to Indigenous Communities
- How The Land Can Shape Your Emotional Health
- Global and Local Impacts of Indigenous Art
- Connecting Law, Wellness and Spirit
- Addressing Bullying and Lateral Violence in our Communities
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