"Rivers of Grass: Sasha Wortzel and the Miccosukee Connection"

**INDIGENOUS IN THE NEWS WITH SASHA WORTZEL**

Today we welcome Sasha Wortzel—filmmaker, artist, and storyteller whose work explores the intersections of memory, land, and identity. Her latest film, Rivers of Grass, takes us deep into the Florida Everglades, where ecology, history, and Indigenous resistance converge. With a poetic lens and powerful collaborations, Sasha brings forward stories that connect us to place, purpose, and preservation.

INDIGENOUS IN THE NEWS WITH SASHA WORTZEL

RIVER OF GRASS FILM

ABOUT RIVER OF GRASS

RIVER OF GRASS is a present-day reimagining of environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s celebrated book, “The Everglades: River of Grass,” (1947), which transformed the public’s understanding of the area from worthless swamps to an essential source of freshwater, enabling the ecosystem to endure, just barely, today.

In the wake of a hurricane, Douglas visits filmmaker Sasha Wortzel in a dream and catalyzes a prismatic study of a wilderness that is home to a rich history and a site of resistance in the face of climate collapse. Wortzel reads Douglas’s book and joins prayer walks through the Everglades with Miccosukee educator Betty Osceola, transporting the audience through the watershed past and present. We meet a mother taking on the polluting sugar industry; a Two-Spirit Miccosukee environmentalist and poet; a mother daughter team removing snakes wreaking havoc on the ecosystem; and a family who have fished in the Everglades for six generations.

Interweaving Douglas’s writing, present-day verité, and archival glimpses, RIVER OF GRASS reveals how this country’s origin story haunts and inextricably shapes contemporary American life, while asking how we might weather coming storms better together.

ABOUT SASHA WORTZEL

Sasha Wortzel’s film Rivers of Grass is a poetic and immersive exploration of the Florida Everglades, blending environmental history, personal memory, and queer identity. The film draws inspiration from the writings of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the environmentalist who famously dubbed the Everglades a “river of grass,” and incorporates contemporary voices of those who call the region home.

Wortzel, a Florida native and 2017 AIRIE (Artists in Residence in Everglades) fellow, is known for her multidisciplinary work that delves into the intersections of ecology, memory, and marginalized histories. Her approach often involves a blend of documentary and experimental techniques, aiming to illuminate the layered narratives embedded in landscapes.

In 2024, an installation featuring film stills from Rivers of Grass was showcased at Oregon State University’s PRAx Lightboxes, in conjunction with the exhibition How to Carry Water. This installation offered audiences a glimpse into the film’s visual and thematic elements, highlighting Wortzel’s focus on the Everglades’ past and present.

While a specific release date for the full film has not been announced, the ongoing exhibitions and Wortzel’s active engagement with environmental and artistic communities suggest that Rivers of Grass will continue to be presented in various formats.

BETTY OSCEOLA, MICCOSUKEE TRIBAL LEADER

2024 LAKE OKEECHOBEE PRAYER WALK

In 2024, Lake Okeechobee in Florida was the site of a prayer walk aimed at defending the Everglades and its future. The prayer walk, led by Osceola and other Native American leaders, involved walking in silence along the lake’s perimeter, praying in their own languages, and observing the lake’s diverse ecosystems. The walk aimed to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the Everglades and the lake’s role in the broader water system.