The Miccosukee Tribe and the National Park Service signed two co-stewardship agreements for the Everglades and Biscayne national parks Aug. 27.

Co-stewardship is a term to describe collaboration between the government, tribal nations and Native Hawaiian Organizations to preserve federal land and waters, according to the Department of the Interior website.

“The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida has long been a steward of the Everglades and Biscayne Bay, pre-dating the establishment of the National Park Service,” Chairman Talbert Cypress of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida said in a press release. “Since the battles in Biscayne Bay during the Seminole Wars and the subsequent creation of Everglades National Park and the eviction of the Tribal villages within it, the Tribe has worked with the Service to reestablish our role in the Everglades and the Bay. We are deeply appreciative of the National Park Service’s commitment to restoring Tribal co-stewardship of these lands.” 

Wildland fire and prescribed burning, water resources and visitor services in the Shark Valley area are allowed within the Everglades National Park agreement.

“The Biscayne National Park agreement acknowledges Miccosukee citizens’ rights to traditional fishing and plant gathering within park borders. The agreement also establishes the intent to collaborate on fisheries management, vegetation restoration, resource protection and facilitation of traditional Tribal practices,” the release said.

The agreements will stay in place for five years, with the opportunity to renew every five years for 25 years. The signing ceremony for the agreements was at the Miccosukee Reserved Area in the Everglades National Park.

“In 2022, the NPS issued guidance to improve federal stewardship of public lands, waters and wildlife by strengthening the role of Tribal governments in federal land management. This guidance followed from the Joint Secretarial Order 3403 … which outlined how the two Departments will strengthen Tribal co-stewardship efforts,” the release said.

The co-stewardship policy helps park managers have working relationships with tribes, the release said and aims to empower Indigenous communities.