Stories Of Survival

Everglades Keepers: The Miccosukee Story

• Phillip Grager • Season 1 • Episode 3

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Welcome back to Stories of Survival.

Phillip:

the show where we preserve voices, cultures, and histories that too often go unheard. I'm Philip Grager, and today we're heading deep into the Florida Everglades to talk about one of the most resilient indigenous nations in North America, the Micka Suki Tribe of Florida, and to guide us through this world, we have someone who's not just studied the mic Kazuki, he's worked alongside them. Listen to their elders, learn their language and documented their stories. His name is Mr. Ian Iias and he is one of the leading linguists working with indigenous communities of Florida on matters of culture and language and environmental stewardship. Mr. Iias, welcome to the show. So our first segment that we're gonna be talking about is basically just setting the stage. So before we get into the deeper layers, I wanna paint a quick picture for listeners who may not be familiar with the Mizuki tribe. This is a tribe that originates from outside of Florida and moving deeper into the Everglades to avoid US military forces. Who were there to enforce the Indian Removal Act, an unconstitutional law that had genocidal consequences for the oldest cultures of the American South. After most of these cultures were expelled from the region, the Micko Suki lived for decades in relative isolation in the river of grass, navigating its waterways and dugout canoes, building thatch chi, and sustaining themselves with fishing, hunting, and farming on Tree Islands. Today, they're federally recognized, self-governing and are leaders in Everglades conservation. But their story isn't one frozen in time. It's alive, evolving, and under constant pressure from environmental changes and development. Mr. Glass asked, let's start with your journey. How did you first get connected to the Mic Suki people?

ian:

So, that's sort of a question that. Brings up two different questions because I've been around the kazuki kinda my whole life. I grew up in West Kendall and West, west, west Kendall, those last couple houses right before you see a bunch of trees and then boom, there's the resort, right? I like a lot of sort of, you know, McMansion dwelling Cuban Americans had always known of Mizuki people. They went to Braddock and

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

you know, high schools in the area. And, after my family would go to church on Sundays, more often than not, we would take advantage of the generous helpings at

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

buffet, for a reasonable price. And, usually we'd go there in our Sunday best and, you know, eat at the buffets. And there were tribal members there. And sometimes they'd sit next to us and if they did. You could probably bet that my very sociable stepdad would, you know, crack a couple jokes with them and that would be that. And, you know, they

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

At FIU once I got to college, things changed a little bit. I made sure to take full advantage of being in college. And if anyone here is listening to me and is making, any plans to pursue secondary post-secondary education, I would really encourage you to get as active on campus as possible because my worldview really changed in fundamental ways once I made a point to. Join the College Democrats and College Republicans, Haitian Student Unions, Muslim Student Association, Shalom, FIU. You know, if I had a spare hour or two in my, in my schedule, I made sure to use it, either studying up or hanging around with people. From a different background, you know, people who had experienced life a little bit differently from me, you know, because that's how you find answers to questions that you've for your entire life. You know, people have answers. You just have to sort of know where those people and where those answers

Phillip:

Absolutely.

ian:

so when I was doing, so, I joined among other groups, a gig, a global indigenous group, and that's where I met some people who were from Seminole Tribe and other tribes of the nations in the Americas. I stuck around a little while, you know, I didn't, it didn't become anything central in my world or anything. It was just another sort of club that I was in. Fast forward several years or more, and my fiance becomes involved with some local activists. Turns out that one of those activists is one of the guys that I met at gig years prior, and the three of us sort of become closer and closer friends. The fact that I've studied many other languages, I've been fluent at one point or another in one of about 10 languages. And so when I made friends with someone from, from Seminole, their name, her name is Eden, they are one of the dearest souls to me on this earth. When they learned that I was good with languages, they were like, oh, so, so you've learned languages, huh? What if I told you the language of this place was in danger?

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

They're like, my grandma, their grandma, wrote the mic Suki dictionary. They wish that they could sort of make use of it in the way that they know that they could. And they know that I'm a language guy, while I can't teach them their language, could sort of walk them through what it was like to learn, let's say, you know, Hebrew, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, and sort of see what we could apply in, their journeys with language learning. with time, I became closer to them, their grandmas, their uncles, and you know, fast forward a couple times, I become friends with their friends and their friends is friends as friends, and

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

is

Phillip:

Well that is a beautiful story, and to all of those students listening that are going into college, definitely take after Mr. GL story because who knows, it can turn into a powerful movement just like yours did. Now, one thing I've learned is that like any language, indigenous languages are more than just words. And in this case, the mic Kazuki and Seminole languages are a living map of the Everglades and instead of the catchall term Everglades, there are terms for individual landscapes and regions named after specific water flows and even flora and fauna. So can you share a couple of examples of mizuki or seminal words or phrases that shows deep environmental knowledge and connection?

ian:

So I can say this,. Though we're all living in the same world, the language that you and your community speaks and sort of the history that you and your community have see that same

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

differently. What I mean by that is Florida, right, south Florida, sort of urban matrix, you know, that built up parts of Florida largely on the. edges, on the shores, some of the suburbs that are further inland, and then, you know, the, the shimmering waters between them, the Everglades, and we refer to them very differently growing up. All of that stuff in the middle. That was

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

You know, it's wet and we don't go there too often until eventually I did start hiking there and, you know, camping there. And, and I loved it. But even so, it was all Everglades didn't matter. If it wasn't, I was in the Pine Rocklands or in the, in the early marshy center. It was all Everglades learning, Seminole and Zuki, Seminole, being a word that refers to actually two different languages. Mikasuki and another one called Creek and Muskogee. both of these languages are still spoken by, native people as their first language in South

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

And these languages have no single word for the whole Everglades like we do in English, right. Which part of South Florida are you talking about? If you're talking about that marshy center, you know, in, in Seminole and Creek you'd call that a, you can say, uh, literally means like, where it shimmers down there,

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

waters. EFA means the, the wetlands, you know, or the swamp, you know. If you're talking about the, sort of higher land, big Cyprus preserve area that is dominated by Cyprus trees, it's quite a bit drier. That's, you know, a fund literally

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

the Cyprus, you know, further north, the Brighton reservation, which is where people really speak creek, you'd call that area. Which means like between the, the little big palms, you know, because that landscape over there really does look sort of like a, like a savanna. It's tall grasses and palm trees all around. So while to us, that's all the sticks, that's all the Everglades to the cultures that have been there the longest. They see the, the textures of that landscape with a lot more hd, with a lot higher

Phillip:

Of course. Yeah. And in regards to their history, one of the things that stands out about the mic Suki is their fierce independence, as you were saying, they've been there for centuries longer, even longer than us Americans or anyone else that migrated. And in 1962 under Chairman Buffalo Tiger, they became one of the first tribes to gain US federal recognition. And it was the first to successfully defeat a termination campaign, which is when the government decides it doesn't want to recognize a tribe anymore. And they also rejected the Bureau of Indian Affairs Control over their daily lives. And by 1971, they were running their own school teaching children on their own terms. A legacy that was truly shaped by the mizuki themselves. Finally, free from us and any other oppressive force. Now, Mr. Esias, from your expert perspective, how has that decision shaped the way the mic Kazuki approach education and governance today?

ian:

I would say that, I, myself having, having been a teacher until just this past year, if you give people room, if you give a student room, give them stake, them promise that if you invest in this thing, you will be rewarded for it. You know, you

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

the fruits of your labor. will put in the work, you know. That was as true of my students in the classroom as it has proven to be of, you know, mizuki people in, in their homelands. Uh, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is not a bureau that has extended a hand to help the people that it was set up to allegedly help. Generally speaking, any tribe's experience with the BIA is one of sort of slow, miserable neglect. You know, imagine your worst day at the DMV times a thousand and it's happened to your family four hundreds of years. That's sort of what the relationship between a lot of native people has been like. So the fact that they were able to negotiate a new setup in which they controlled their own schools, they find a way to meet the benchmarks of the local, of educational institutions while also spending time centering their narrative, there being their language, and seeming to successfully do both. That was a game changer and. It only really was because the people who had administered the BIA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, know the simple lesson that if you give them room and give them stake, they will make something up. They will make something original of it, and they will advocate for themselves once they're given room to do so.

Phillip:

Yeah, that is super inspirational to see how far education can take people. Now In fact, a lot of mic kazuki, not only children, but adults have environmental guardianship as one of their largest priorities. And for the Mic, Kazuki and Seminole people, the Everglades isn't just a backdrop. It's very much central to the Micko Suki identity. Now the tribe has taken on a major role. In environmental protection from water rights lawsuits to Everglades restoration projects. There have even been prayer walks where elders, children and activists travel miles through the wetlands in order to raise awareness. Now, what's the philosophy behind their environmental stewardship and what threats are they currently facing?

ian:

So philosophy a big word, right? Lots of people might be motivated to do similar things because of very different motivations. Can say that having. Spent several years now, you know, a couple good years now protesting with sort of our indigenous hosts here in South Florida. a lot of the actors here and in any political fights are in it for kind of different reasons, you know, while leaders in South Florida's indigenous communities. Might all have, you know, a shared indigenous past and, a shared interest in the landscape that protected them, and they then turn around and want to protect that landscape. Underneath all of these histories and identities, there's still basically

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

you know, so who is the, we're talking about philosophy. Who is the philosopher that you're

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

If you're looking to, let's say, Houston Cyprus or Michael Frank of the Otter Clan, right? If you are looking to Bobby c Billy or Betty Osceola of the Panther clan, their sort of like worldview justifications. Their intellectual underpinnings are gonna be a little bit different

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

people, right? Underneath all of this race, gender, whatever. We're still basically individuals, so. Depending on the philosopher in question, some will justify their passionate stewardship. their desire to defend their homelands. They'll justify that teachings from their traditional spiritualities. Some others who might be indigenous, but Christian. Might seek to defend the Everglades because they want to defend a gift that God father of Christ, you know, gave to his children. More specifically, gave to his red children as one Otter clan Elder

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

you know, Christian, but still indigenous. You know, some see the Everglades as a refuge from that modern matrix, you know, for life on the coasts, you know, the modern world. Others wanna defend the Everglades because without the Everglades, the modern world on the shores of Florida is very

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

jeopardy. The water in your pipes comes from the Everglades, and if ever the Everglades goes kaput a couple dozen million people are going to be faced with a pretty dire ecological

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

So in some ways, you know, I defend the Everglades because it keeps me from modernity. Others seek to defend it because without the Everglades modernity in South Florida is damn near, near impossible. there's lots of reasons to arrive at the conclusion that we should defend America's vast wetlands. once you arrive at that conclusion though, if we have our work

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

for us, right? This enormous wet lens is a. Is a perseverant landscape. It is existed through hundreds and thousands of years into the present, though it is in many ways besieged current battles include old ones like the. Eternal desire for developers in South Florida to chop up more of the Everglades. We put in more McMansions in suburbs like the one that I grew up in, trying to profit, probably leave Florida the way that many of

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

Some others include continuing struggles against, for example, the Army Corps of Engineers. We have a pretty large military presence in South Florida. And considerations for the military. A large reason why the levies and dikes and canals were built the way that they were in order to benefit them. And ecologists, glades men and, the tribes are always intentional. Some, challenges are new. There is concern over the, Miami-Dade Jetport. Which some partisans call alligator Alcatraz, which was supposed to be a sort of expedited deportation facility, that was put in that area. In, large part because its geography would discourage escape from the among the refugees who would be held there because if they escaped an alligator

Phillip:

It. Yeah.

ian:

And ecologically speaking, the Dade port. The, the Miami-Dade jet port is a tiny plot of partially paved land that is surrounded national parks. The Big Cypress preserve the Mizuki Reservation, it is a full on facility that is meant to house thousands and thousands of people. The tribes were not consulted, the county was not consulted, the state was not consulted. It was unilaterally there to the benefit of the federal government. Despite the fact that the nearest mic Suki camp is only about 900 feet away from the gate of this facility, this is a pretty pronounced sudden challenge to the integrity of the already fragile. Already besieged Everglades that, the tribe can, would probably stand to benefit from as much help as they can get. They've recently, enjoyed a win in the courts. They are currently, seeing a stay on any further construction in the Dade port facility in the Miami-Dade Jetport facility, which is to say that. In some corner of the government, we are getting some people in power to reconsider this

Phillip:

absolutely.

ian:

They are also collecting, donations because recently there was a fire on the reservation, that burned down the homes of several tribal members, in including some of the, ecological organizers that we've. I mentioned earlier in this podcast, so there are lots of ways to get involved. The Love the Everglades, organization, he is probably one of the longest standing outward facing Everglades preservation groups in, you know, in the scene. and, yeah, any of the challenges that face any protected landscape in the United States or in the world is also being faced by, the people of the Everglades. America's Vastest wetlands for now. And, as we talk through more episodes and aspects of South Florida history, I'm sure other challenges will come to mind and I will be sure to bring our attention to them because there are many opportunities for us to get more involved

Phillip:

Absolutely, and it's worth noting that much of the mic Kazuki land isn't just for living, it's also sacred. And certain tree islands hold ceremonial grounds where stories, songs, and dances have been passed down for generations. And some trail islands have been sites of constant ceremonial usage for centuries and into the present. Now, this is a living heritage and not something that can simply be moved if a developer or the government needs space. Now diving a little bit deeper, you've spent a lot of time with Kazuki elders and language keepers, and without giving away anything private, is there a certain story moment or teaching that really stayed with you?

ian:

Alright, what are some stories that have stuck out to me? There's one story that, a good friend of mine, told me, she's, an elder in the Panther clan she likes the indoors. Let me preface this by saying this person whose story I'm going to mention here. Very much likes air conditioning. You know, she's a good, good Southern Baptist woman. You know, she, she prefers to be, even though she is, you know, in, she's an indigenous woman who prefers to be indoor and eating something fried and

Phillip:

Hmm.

ian:

church on Sunday, overdoing all of the outdoors and ever gliding, ceremonial tree

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

and that, that I was talking about. Right? This friend of mine, however, had a dream that is unlike. Any dream that she's had, unlike any dream I've had in which she sort of came to, you know, remembers sort of being in the dream in which she is suspended, sort of looking down, facing downward bird's eye view over a tree island in the Everglades, and looking down, sees that they're in patchwork. That they are, you know, there is a fire in the middle that it looks to her like the, like corn dance, like the green corn

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

that is, prominent in ecological, in, in indigenous cultures throughout the American south, throughout the east coast. I think even in a lot of the Midwest, they used to do stuff like that. And she's looking down, seeing people doing their thing. She gets a little closer and as she gets a little closer, they can't see her. You know, she's, like I said, suspended, she doesn't feel the sun. It's just as though, you know, you were playing Minecraft

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

mode is sort of how she described it. And she gets a little closer, not much closer, and she feels other people get closer sort of around her and behind her. And she looks around and looks to the sides and she sees people who are dressed. The old way, you know, and the really old way. And just people from her generation and generations past surrounding her and all looking down, looking at this green corn dance procession. They're sort of muttering, they're sort of speaking to each other. as they get closer to the tree island, they see that the people who are dancing, their hair is colored. They get closer and like, oh, this one has a red hair, this one has blonde hair, brown hair, you know, salt and pepper. And, and she's like, huh. If you were not aware. Indigenous people, people native to the Americas, native American in the us, central America, south America, sort of pride themselves in having long, straight jet black hair. That's sort of the stereotype. And so to see colored hair means mixed with something else. Now as they get closer that they see that the dancing is good, right? They're dancing the way they should be dancing. the, the cooks are cooking what they should be cooking. The people are speaking to each other in mikasuki language

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

good, but don't look like they used to, and there's sort of an indecisive muttering, and that's just sort of the whole dream. She's just looking down, surrounded by these people and sort of making sense of. What is in front of them? You know, in many indigenous, languages, they talk about time a little bit differently. Like, in English, you, if you say something happened way back when, you might sort of motion with your hand behind you because like it's in the back. It's in the

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

But in many languages of the Americas. That is sort of flipped, that the past is something in front of you, right? And the future is

Phillip:

Okay.

ian:

you. It's almost imagined as though you are falling backwards through time crystal clarity of what happened to you uncertainty about what's going to come into the future. It it, it zips over your head, past you your line of vision from the future. At your back to the past that you can see and focus on for the

Phillip:

Got it.

ian:

So I say that to say that her being suspended in

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

know, just sort of gazing at the future that is unlike any past that she's ever had, really just made me realize we are all sort of. Thinking this, we being, I myself am, you know, Cuban American, Puerto Rican American. You yourself, are u

Phillip:

Yeah. Ukrainian.

ian:

Is that

Phillip:

Ukrainian American.

ian:

Ukrainian American. And you know, this friend of mine is a Seminole American. When she was born, though, she was an American. She didn't have, citizenship yet. She was born in a tree island. She didn't see white people till she was about eight or nine. You know, she didn't grow up with, you know. Uh, English or books or socks and shoes. They were just living off of the

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

Everglades and in a single lifetime. She's now living, you know, driving a

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

and stuff, you know, an incredible amount of change. So as she talked through this, she talked about sort of feeling like me and everyone else, all those sort of we were sort of muting because were doing everything that they were supposed to do. But they don't look like us anymore,

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

and we have to think about what that means. Are we happy with that? matters most to us? Right? In a culture where for hundreds of years the most powerful people in the world conspired. To make sure that you did not look like your ancestors. Sound like your ancestors, live like your ancestors. The fact that there are still people in South Florida, indigenous people who look like indigenous people and who descend exclusively from indigenous people, that some tribal members, it's a

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

But to others, that sort of misses the point, right? You, me, my friend, mat. The three of us are swept up in a culture that is rapidly changing, right? And the cultures we come from are themselves underling, rapid change. So as we go into the future, right, be a good Seminole, to be a good Ukrainian American, a good Cuban American. What matters? Is it doing the thing? Is it sounding like the people we came from? Is it looking like our great great grandpas and our abita and, and the family photos? Which parts of us in a, in a world that is so rapidly changing, which parts of us do we want to keep why? And if we accomplish those goals that we set for ourselves. Are we sure that we'll be happy?

Phillip:

Absolutely. And that's a very deep question and I would like our audience, all of our listeners, if they can pose that question to themselves. If you see yourself or your future generations and thinking about your culture, thinking about what link. Would you speak, maybe thinking about those barbecue cookouts you do on the weekends or meeting with family, how would you like to see that in the future? You know, as Mr. Iias was shining a new light on us. Would you like maybe your descendants to look the same as you, or would you like maybe new people to have a newfound interest in your language, in your traditions or in your cultures? And now putting this. Question with like another spin on you Mr. Iias, looking ahead, how are Young Mic Suki people keeping their traditions alive, whether through language learning culture programs, or any sort of modern technology?

ian:

So I can speak to people I know. I don't

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

mic Suki,

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

think I

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

of them. It's about 700 tribal members. You

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

I think I know maybe a hundred that little circle though. I can say that. I am seeing people doing stuff like, what I'm doing in my family. When I was growing up, apparently when I was a little kid, I only

Phillip:

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

ian:

right? But by the time I got to like first grade, I only spoke English, and this is gonna sound crazy. I

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

it. Like I, I remember, you know, not even being able to speak

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

well, family members would sort of, you know, put me down or whatever, and I'd be like, well, that's fine. I like English

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

you know, and, and as I got older, I, I really could not speak it well. I am now. Basically AFF fluent speaker is Spanish. My accent don't sound all the way

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

or Cuban. If I go to a restaurant. Either way they'll be like,

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

you know, where, where are

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

from? You know, and I'll have to do this spiel. But point is I was able to, my own engagement with my community, reclaim. as a language that I can speak on the fly for hours. I was an ESOL teacher previously and I spoke Spanish all day, every day. I go to a family party,

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

you was talking about, I'll be speaking in straight Spanish for 4, 5, 6 hours. If it's Christmas, probably closer to 12

Phillip:

Oh yeah.

ian:

are and, and, and I can say that and I'm proud of that. I am seeing among my neighbors in Mic Kazuki. A similar trajectory that makes me very optimistic. I know of some, youth, some tribal youth. And by the way, just because you know, I know you're in high school, when I say youth, I mean people who are. 30, maybe 30 ish

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

Okay. youth is subjective. Y'all would probably be like, oh my God, you mean to tell me 29 is a youth? No, that's a dinosaur for me right now. I'm gonna be talking about tribal youth as people

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

under. And I am definitely seeing people in that age range sort of step up in a way that I did not see too often

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

People engaging. They're tribal officials, they're council people, they're, chairman, and try to sort of accelerate some of the language programming on the reservations. And I am cautiously optimistic, right? Until this point. have been having sort of a weekly practice sessions for the creek in Micki languages among people in the diaspora and among young people, uh, who maybe don't have 24 7 access to affluent speaker in their

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

because only now are we starting to see families where there are zero fluent speakers

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

You know, that is a brand new curve that we are seeing in 2025 and seeing that they are trying to kickstart. A language program on, for example, on one of the reservations that I work with, and I know about it because I'm involved I'm involved because these tribal youth are kick-starting it and mention me by name. This tells me that

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

turning and that's the

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

you know? that has sort of given me pause because really as an outsider facilitating that trajectory that comes from within the community, that's all I can ever really hope to do.

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

Right. see what they're doing and I try to do the same with Spanish in my family. You know, try to get my brothers and sisters speaking more Spanish, explaining, you know, the subjunctive and whatever, and, you know, and redirecting them towards books and, and YouTube channels and stuff like that that can help them get further along in their journey, you know, seeing that happen on the reservation. That makes

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

you know,

Phillip:

for sure I could not agree more, especially because I'm sure many of our listeners, myself included, also feel the same way and have a very similar history. Now this conversation reminds me that the Everglades isn't just an ecosystem, it's a library, a home, and a spiritual space for many communities, whether it's the Mizuki, any hiker such as yourself that are in town. Simple old country people, Gladman Santos, and people of any faith who see value in seeing that the earth, in the form that God or nature had made it. Now Mr. Aziz, I want to take some time and thank you for bringing us into this world and showing us how much is at stake when a culture is threatened.

ian:

My pleasure, Philip. It's easy to, especially in South Florida, but please try not to forget your neighbors because like I was saying, we are in the same

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

right?

Phillip:

Mm-hmm.

ian:

Oui. Whatever struggle you think that you're going through, if you feel like it's just you going through it the way that it felt like I was going through it alone, you know, no one else in my family, everyone else spoke perfect Spanish. It didn't take me long to sort of look around and sort of squint my eyes and see that, you know what, I think my neighbor's

Phillip:

Yeah.

ian:

thing, you know? Through years and lots of connections. It, it became clear that, you know, if they're going through the same thing, maybe they have, maybe they have

Phillip:

Yeah,

ian:

know, and if they don't. Maybe there's some things I figured out that they haven't yet. Maybe I

Phillip:

for sure.

ian:

right? And in the event that neither me nor my neighbor have the answers to a problem we're both facing, might be worthwhile to try to sort of sit in that discomfort together, I mean, even if we haven't figured it out yet.

Phillip:

If you'd like to learn more about the oldest cultures of where you are from, visit native land.ca to see just how many indigenous neighbors you might have or where they are today. If you also want to know more about Florida's oldest living cultures, the Seminole and Micka Suki people, I encourage you to visit their official websites, support indigenous conservation efforts, and maybe even follow some people such as Houston Cyprus, Betty Oola, love the e Everglades. And Talbert Cyprus. I also highly encourage you if you live here in South Florida or visiting soon, to visit the Mizuki Indian Village in South Florida to see the museum, or to take some airboat rides to visit their historic tree islands. That's all for this episode of Stories of Survival. I'm Philip Grager. Thank you for listening and for your attention. And as always, keep the stories alive.