Scientists, artists, and Everglades advocates are converging on the Miccosukee Casino & Resort this Friday, October 2, for a free daylong gathering built around one shared concern: the future of South Florida's river of grass. The Miccosukee Arts & Science Symposium, known as MASS, kicks off at 9 a.m. at the resort's 500 Southwest 177th Avenue address in Miami, with admission free but requiring advance registration.
This marks the second edition of the biennial event, a collaboration between the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Love The Everglades Movement, according to mutcomm.com. As reported by Miami's Community Newspapers, the symposium brings communities together to articulate environmental concerns through science, art and community engagement, with a specific focus on issues facing the Everglades. This year's theme, Everglades Polyphony, reflects the idea of many voices working in concert, according to the same outlet.
Science Meets Art in the Programming
The day's agenda splits into parallel tracks. The Miccosukee Tribe and Florida International University are organizing the science sessions, while the Love The Everglades Movement created an advisory committee to shape the art and community programming, per Miami's Community Newspapers. Kevin Cunniff, chief sustainability officer for the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, said the event will feature interactive Everglades science sessions highlighting the partnership between the tribe and FIU, a claim echoed in the mutcomm.com report.
Attendees can expect lightning talks from FIU Everglades scientists, workshops from arts organizations including the Miami Artist Census, and conversations about alternative economies with local and international arts groups, according to mutcomm.com. The program also includes artist talks featuring traditional and contemporary artists from the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, field trips led by Miccosukee conservationists and artist Christina Pettersson, and poster sessions where researchers present their work alongside a dance party and fashion show, per Miami's Community Newspapers.
A Film Screening and a Conversation on Hope
The symposium will screen the documentary Edge of Hope, directed by Dudley Alexis, followed by a conversation between Alexis and Miccosukee educator Betty Osceola, according to mutcomm.com. John Kominoski, an FIU professor in the Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, described the gathering as a chance to meet an entire community of artists, scientists, and advocates committed to understanding, protecting, and celebrating the Everglades. “Este encuentro les permitirá conocer a toda una comunidad de artistas, científicos y defensores de los Everglades,” Kominoski said, per mutcomm.com.
Houston R. Cypress, Otter Clan co-founder of the Love The Everglades Movement, said MASS26 will run multiple simultaneous sessions that attendees can discuss with one another during breaks, according to Miami's Community Newspapers. The public helped shape the event's agenda through online requests and proposals submitted ahead of time, the outlet reports.
Bilingual Access and Interpretation
Organizers say the symposium will offer sessions entirely in Spanish along with live simultaneous translation for other activities, according to mutcomm.com. “Tendremos sesiones completamente en español y traducción simultánea en vivo,” the source states. MARB Language Services will provide the interpretation services, per Miami's Community Newspapers, ensuring Spanish-speaking attendees can fully engage with both the science and art tracks.
Funding the Next Generation
Money raised during the event will benefit the Miccosukee Education Fund, which helps cover school supplies, equipment purchases, and tuition costs for Miccosukee students, according to mutcomm.com. Organizers are also welcoming sponsorships, volunteers, and what Miami's Community Newspapers describes as spiritual action in support of the cause. Attendees will get to engage directly with FIU research, Miami Artist Census data, and other ongoing art and science projects tied to the Everglades.
The Miccosukee Tribe and the Love The Everglades Movement have also been involved in a composting program that returns collected food materials to the Miccosukee community garden as soil, per the same report. One concrete goal for this year's symposium is to identify community priorities, synthesize the ideas gathered throughout the day, and turn them into a final report, mutcomm.com notes.
Two Organizations, One Mission
The Love The Everglades Movement is described as a multidisciplinary volunteer nonprofit that includes artists, activists, teachers, clergy, businesses and media members, and it organizes Everglades art projects, cleanups, concerts, fundraisers, workshops, prayer walks and excursions throughout the year, according to Miami's Community Newspapers. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, meanwhile, is described as a federally recognized sovereign Indian tribe that provides governmental and support services to its tribal community and functions as a primary stakeholder and leader in Everglades management and restoration efforts.
The Miccosukee Environmental Protection Agency conducts scientific research, monitoring and assessment across nearly 1.3 million acres of tribal lands, according to mutcomm.com. That scope of work underscores why organizers frame MASS as more than a one-day event — it's presented as a touchpoint meant to foster stronger relationships between longtime Everglades advocates and newcomers alike, while supporting projects, groups and individuals working to protect the ecosystem and its natural resources.
