#NativeAmerican leaders blast construction of #Florida’s ‘#AlligatorAlcatraz’ on land they call sacred
By KATE PAYNE
Updated 5:57 PM EDT, June 26, 2025
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — "Florida Republican Gov. #RonDeSantis’ administration is racing ahead with construction of a makeshift immigration detention facility at an airstrip in the Everglades over the opposition of Native American leaders who consider the area their sacred #AncestralHomelands.
"A string of portable generators and dump trucks loaded with fill dirt streamed into the site on Thursday, according to #activist Jessica Namath, who witnessed the activity. The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at the Miami Dade County-owned airfield located in the #BigCypressNationalPreserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami.
"A spokesperson for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is helping lead the project, did not respond to requests for comment.
"State officials have characterized the site as an ideal place to hold #migrants saying there’s 'not much' there other than pythons and alligators.
"#Indigenous leaders dispute that and are condemning the state’s plans to build what’s been dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' on their homelands. #NativeAmericans can trace their roots to the area back thousands of years.
"For generations, the sweeping wetlands of what is now South Florida have been home to Native peoples who today make up the #MiccosukeeTribe of Indians of Florida and the #SeminoleTribe of Florida, as well as the #SeminoleNation of Oklahoma.
" 'Rather than Miccosukee homelands being an uninhabited wasteland for alligators and pythons, as some have suggested, the Big Cypress is the Tribe’s traditional homelands. The landscape has protected the #Miccosukee and Seminole people for generations,' Miccosukee Chairman Talbert Cypress wrote in a statement on social media.
"There are 15 remaining traditional Miccosukee and #Seminole villages in Big Cypress, as well as ceremonial and burial grounds and other gathering sites, Cypress testified before Congress in 2024.
" 'We live here. Our ancestors fought and died here. They are buried here,' he said.
The Big Cypress is part of us, and we are a part of it.'
"Garrett Stuart, who lives about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the site, described the crystal clear waters, open prairies and lush tree islands of Big Cypress as teeming with life.
" 'Hearing the arguments of the frogs in the water, you know? And listen to the grunt of the alligator. You’re hearing the call of that osprey flying by and listening to the crows chatting,' he said. 'It’s all just incredible.'
"Critics have condemned the #detention facility and what they call the state’s apparent reliance on alligators as a security measure as a cruel spectacle, while DeSantis and other state officials have defended it as part of Florida’s muscular efforts to carry out President Donald Trump’s #ImmigrationCrackdown.
#ImmigrationRaids #ICEKidnapping #ProtectTheGlades #NoAlligatorAlcatraz
#ICEDetentionCenter #ProtectTheSacred #BigCypressNationalPreserve
#StopAlligatorAlcatraz
#ICEACAB #StopDetentionCentersEverywhere