Ebb + Flow: Design in Dialogue with the Florida Everglades

This question was at the center of a series of roundtable discussions hosted by Artists in Residence in the Everglades (AIRIE) and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. In these conversations, the knowledge and experiences of Seminole, Miccosukee, and Black communities in South Florida were discussed alongside the role of institutions in engaging communities and inspiring value systems. Everyone can play a vital role in the transfer of knowledge, safeguarding, and restoration of the Everglades by amplifying local histories and advocating for lifestyle and policy changes. These conversations, condensed here for Making Home, examined environmentally conscious approaches to building technology, the ways we exist within our cities, memory keeping, and shared Indigenous design strategies across the Caribbean as forms of advocacy for the Everglades.

REVEREND HOUSTON R. CYPRESS I’m from the Otter Clan, one of the families that make up the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. My community is based in Western Miami, in the heart of the Everglades, right next to Everglades National Park and the entrance to Shark Valley. I’m also with the Love the Everglades Movement, a nonprofit that seeks to educate, inspire action, and make art. And I’m on the tribe’s environmental and Everglades advisory committees.

One of my concerns is to make sure that there’s public awareness for the greater Everglades—not just the national park. It’s a watershed that unites the expanse from the Kissimmee River all the way down to Lake Okeechobee and, because of its connection to the St. Lucie Canal and the Caloosahatchee River, out to the eastern and western coasts, down through the agricultural area, and then to the national park and out to the Florida Bay. Having a broad view of the greater Everglades is important; it should be a place that anybody can access. We must honor the fact that people currently live here, from the Miccosukee and Seminole peoples (federally recognized tribes) to the independent Indigenous community, and that people have lived here before—Calusa and Tequesta peoples in the past, and others. There are coalitions like the Gladesmen coming together to care for these places. Any initiatives should highlight communities of color, Black, and migrant communities—people who are coming here and making this place their home. It’s essential that we have an expansive embrace of the variety of communities that are living here and that we’re able to highlight some of the challenges that we’re dealing with, from invasive species to broader climate and spiritual concerns. This is a place of healing, a place of reconciliation that brings communities together; it’s a place for convening.

ALEXANDRA CUNNINGHAM CAMERON Houston, one issue in particular you have created awareness around is how Miami’s built environment relies on the Everglades. In particular the significance of Everglades water and how it’s the primary source of water for greater Miami—drawing a link across the ecosystem, neighborhoods, and individual houses.

CYPRESS Yes, hydrology is foundational for a variety of species, not only plants and animals, but also people who rely on the drinking water that flows through our communities, providing essential services. It’s also important to note energy and electricity concerns: the nuclear power plant uses millions of gallons of water daily to cool its machinery, which allows us to power our gadgets. That’s another way to connect— people enjoy social media. It makes communication and storytelling possible, so energy production and its connection to water is something that we can also bring attention to.

Excerpt from  Making Home: Belonging, Memory, and Utopia in the 21st Century, (Cooper Hewitt |  The MIT Press, 2025) published in companion with  Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial  (New York, Nov. 2024-Aug. 2025)