Indigenous Leaders Take Issue with ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ on Their Homeland

Indigenous leaders in Florida are taking issue with what has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades — an existing facility undergoing modifications to house illegal migrants — according to reports.

Following approval from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), officials are quickly moving to transform the Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility into a space that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) says will be able to process 3,000 illegal migrants.

Officials believe this space is efficient and almost ready to go, touting the natural barrier of the surroundings, as it is, quite literally, surrounded by alligators and pythons. Because of that, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier noted that not much needs to be spent on the perimeter, because “Mother Nature provides it for us.”

But while officials rush to get the site operational quickly, some indigenous leaders are raising concerns, as they consider the area their ancestral homeland.

Miccosukee Chairman Talbert Cypress, for example, released a statement criticizing the government’s plans, opposing it on behalf of the Miccosukee tribe.

“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 statement reads in part.

“The landscape has protected the Miccosukee and Seminole people for generations. This past year, Miccosukee leadership worked alongside a diverse coalition of interest groups in southwest Florida, traveling to and from Washington, D.C. to testify to oppose threats to access to the Big Cypress and defend public and Tribal rights to continue to live, hunt, and fish in traditional homelands,” the statement continued.

Others are planning a demonstration over the weekend.

More via the Courier:

Indigenous leaders and activists are planning to gather at the site again on Saturday to stage a demonstration highlighting why the area is “sacred” and should be “protected, not destroyed.”

“This place became our refuge in time of war. It provides us a place to continue our culture and traditions,” Miccosukee leader Betty Osceola wrote in a social media post announcing the demonstration.

“And we need to protect it for our future generations,” she added.

Despite these pleas, DeSantis said the facility will be able to intake illegal migrants by Tuesday.