Homecoming began as a question: what would it mean for Black people in Miami to consider the Everglades home again? I wanted to create a space where education, ritual, dialogue, art, and food could act as a bridge between Black Miami and this landscape. With the guidance of Reverend Houston Cypress and Betty Osceola, who carry the knowledge and traditions of the Miccosukee, we built a space for reconnection. Our first gathering brought artists, movement workers, homemakers, and organizers together for a day of reflection and remembrance. We listened, we learned, we ate, we honored.
This work is deeply personal. My grandmother, Leola McCoy, was an environmental activist who believed in the power of land stewardship and community care. She taught me that our relationship with the land is not just about preservation—it’s about belonging. Through Homecoming, I am continuing her legacy, reminding Black Miami that we are not separate from the natural world, but intrinsically woven into it.
This work is necessary. As climate change threatens our city and as displacement continues to push our people further from the places that have shaped us, Homecoming is a reminder that we belong—to each other, to this land, and to the stories that refuse to be erased. I ask for your support in making this a lasting and transformative experience, one that brings us back to where we began.
The 1st Project Homecoming
02.27.2022
Homecoming
Created and Curated by Arsimmer McCoy, Artist-in-Residence
February 2022
In collaboration with AIRIE+Love the Everglades Movement+Tigertail Airboat Tours+Betty Osceola
During her time as Artist-in-Residence for the AIRIE fellowship, McCoy went into the program to explore how Black communities in Miami connected with the Everglades. She went into the residency wanting to research and develop creative tools for outreach that she could envelop in her poetic craft. Implementing the knowledge she acquired through the Everglades bedroom library and her research, McCoy found that the Black presence in the Everglades was a long and deeply rooted history. Homecoming is the Cypress beckoning the bodies from Goulds to Carol City to return to where it began. It is a call to release and reconnect to the environment through education, ritual, creation, dialogue, and, of course, food., the universal connector.
The first Homecoming took place on February 27th, 2022. The participants were a mixture of Arsimmer’s family and friends, including visual artists, filmmakers, movement artists, homemakers, and organizers of all ages from all parts of the city. The group included program manager Jane Thayer and past board member Evette Alexander. During Arsimmer’s residency, Jane Thayer connected McCoy to Reverend Houston Cypress. Rev. Cypress is a Two-Spirit Poet, Artist, Producer, and Environmentalist from the Otter Clan of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. He serves on the Miccosukee Tribe’s Environmental Advisory Committee. Cypress is also the co-founder of Love The Everglades Movement, a full-spectrum organization devoted to developing platforms and initiatives for environmental protection and indigenous solidarity. Houston and McCoy engaged in determining what a homecoming could look like. McCoy wanted to have an honest dialogue with the Indigenous community to educate and create solidarity with the people and the land. Houston then connected Arsimmer with Betty Osceola, a member of the Panther Clan of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Betty is an environmental conservation and clean water advocate who has dedicated her life to protecting the Everglades. Drawing from her Miccosukee heritage, Betty, like Houston, teaches others about respecting and preserving our environment for future generations. Together, they formed the first Homecoming. A half-day excursion dedicated to welcoming Black people to the Everglades and asking them to consider this place to be another home.
Overview
02~27~2022 - The Day of Homecoming
+Meet at Res Point at 10 am. Location: Miccosukee Indian Village
+Introduction of programming: Homecoming by AIRIE Fellow Arsimmer McCoy & Love the Everglades Movement. Rev. Houston Cypress. Attendees introduce themselves and explain their connection to Everglades. Co-founder Jean Sarmiento gives participants a glimpse into the activity- An airboat ride through the heart of the Everglades.
+Participants drive 5min to Tigetail Airboat Tours, where they receive ear muffs and safety instructions for the ride.
+Boats launch out into the waterways. Two stops are made to take photos of a gator and briefly write about the still of the Everglades.
+The Airboat docks, and we are greeted by Betty Osceola, who is cooking stew in a large cast iron pot over an in-ground fire. An assistant helps set out the fresh fry bread to be paired.
+As requested, Arsimmer’s aunt Verenda Richards, 62 years old, mother of 3, Retired Director of the Broward Sheriff's Office based in Fort Lauderdale, brings forth her pot of West African peanut stew and California Gold rice to be sat next to Betty’s Choctaw Stew and fry bread. Everyone made a plate and sat under a large chickee to eat.
+Over the food of two cultures, participants were handed questions and prompts they submitted via Google Forms on cards. McCoy led the discussion, and everyone engaged in a cross-cultural dialogue.
+Attendees took time to talk about how they can promote change in the way they see the environment and exchange information with one another to connect and implement those actions once they get back to the city.
+Everyone boarded back on the airboat with “Thank you” cards that listed the ingredients to the fry bread, the mission of Homecoming, and some ways they can reconnect to the Glades.
+All souls returned home with a new language and an immersive & transformative experience.