Betty Osceola is a Miccosukkee elder and activist who has been organizing interfaith prayer vigils outside “Alligator Alcatraz” every single Sunday since the government installed a migrant detention center just a few minutes from her home. Along with pastors and rabbis, she prays for the people who find themselves captive inside the center, and for the closing of the facility that never should’ve been opened in Big Cypress National Preserve.

The image of Betty praying in front of the gates was something that shook me when I witnessed it. I wanted to hear what her prayer sounded like. I wanted others to understand what the Everglades means to the Miccosukee. More than home, it’s also church.

So along with Betty, we made an immersive short film that illustrates environmental holiness in a way that Western cultures can feel.

Human rights and environmental rights go hand in hand. Each of us is sacred. People, plants, water, wildlife. If you don’t recognize the sanctity of one, you can’t uphold respect for any.