Houston R. Cypress
Two-Spirit Artist, Environmentalist, and Bridge Between Worlds
Rev. Houston R. Cypress (Otter Clan, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida) brings together Indigenous wisdom, environmental science, contemporary art, and Two-Spirit teachings to illuminate expanded pathways for decolonizing permaculture. Recorded onsite at the 2025 Florida Permaculture Convergence, this conversation explores how honoring multiple ways of knowing can transform our relationships with land, water, and community.
Growing up in the River of Grass region of the Greater Everglades, Houston experienced firsthand the biodiversity, teachings, and intergenerational knowledge shaped by Native homelands. He speaks about the Everglades as both an ecological refuge and a cultural sanctuary for his ancestors, a place where language, ceremony, and plant medicines continue to guide community life.
As a Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer artist and environmentalist, Houston explores the concept of “queer ecological knowledge,” a framework rooted in fluidity, interconnection, and reciprocity found throughout ecosystems. This perspective honors diversity in all its forms, mirroring the Miccosukee worldview that sees the natural world not as a set of resources but as a network of relatives deserving care and respect.
Houston shares how the Miccosukee Tribe blends scientific environmental monitoring with ancestral insights, deep listening, and ceremony. He describes this integration as “bending the tools,” inspired by memories of his grandfather bending carving knives into new shapes, reshaping Western scientific tools to better serve Indigenous values, protect biodiversity, and preserve cultural practices.
He also discusses the importance of chosen family, a tradition deeply rooted in Seminole and Miccosukee histories. From the historic adoption of self-liberated people into tribal communities to modern LGBTQ+ support networks and Two-Spirit revitalization, the chosen family reflects the core principle of not leaving anyone behind. Houston shares how these expanded definitions of kinship shape the Love The Everglades Movement and the emerging Everglades Earth Cycle project.
Together, the conversation offers practical approaches for those seeking to decolonize their regenerative practices: uplift Indigenous Peoples, expand definitions of home and family, ask new questions that center relationships, and design for reciprocity rather than extraction.
“We need everybody’s joy, everybody’s wisdom. The circle gets stronger when no one is left out.”
Relevant Links to Check Out
The Proven Sustainable™ Conversation Series is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Any funding directed towards the Conversation Series will go towards production efforts to ensure the the recorded discussions are diligently captured and meaningfully distributed. This Conversation Series and website are not-for-profit and created with the intent of channeling support directly to the Peoples represented.