Biscayne National Park: Ethnographic Overview and Assessment

EDAW Inc.

This report provides a general description of the social & cultural context of BISC & discusses current user groups & their activities within the Park. Discussion of social & cultural context is in terms of broad themes rather than in-depth detail about beliefs, customs, lifestyles, & patterns of social interaction. This overview also emphasizes cultural groups specific to the geographic area surrounding BISC as represented in readily available ethnographic literature. There are other cultural & social groups in the area, but the emphasis in this report is on those groups that are well represented in the existing literature. The discussion of user groups categorizes activity types among visitors & describes their interactions with BISC resources. This discussion emphasizes commercial fishing & other water-based commercial & recreational uses of BISC resources. Observations are also included regarding how particular ethnic groups use BISC resources. A review of existing reports, academic literature, & U.S. Bureau of Census data combined with limited ethnographic fieldwork is the basis for the discussion of users, their activities, & concerns about BISC resources. The ethnographic fieldwork focused on identifying current sociocultural conditions & issues associated with user groups & other interested parties. The report also identifies some of the major gaps in social & cultural knowledge about surrounding communities & discusses how existing information might be useful for BISC managers. The treatment of gaps in the literature & in overall knowledge about the connections of surrounding communities with BISC should be considered preliminary. Nonetheless, this is a starting point for understanding both what is known & what is yet to be developed about the overall ethnographic context of BISC. The remaining sections have the following contents: • Section 2 provides a historical & socioeconomic overview of the area & communities adjacent to BISC. Two major topics are presented: – A brief historical overview of south Florida & the region adjacent to the Park – An overview of the contemporary Miami-Dade County demography & economy The history discussion is a broad overview that establishes the major historical trends that resulted in the current social & cultural context of modern-day Miami-Dade County. The summary of the demography & economy describes current population structure & major components of the regional economy. • Section 3 summarizes ethnographic literature for selected cultural groups for south Florida in general & Miami-Dade County in particular. Regional commonalities are first reviewed, followed by a summary discussion for American Indians, Cuban-Americans, African Americans, Nicaraguans & Haitians as well as non-ethnic rural whites known specifically in Florida as “Crackers.” These populations are major cultural groups within communities surrounding the Park. Their experiences as residents of the region illustrate a wide range of cultural & social issues that may also influence new immigrants to the County. • Section 4 describes user activities as expressed in documents particular to BISC. This discussion emphasizes the role of commercial & recreational fishing & other types of water-based commercial & recreational activities. These documents don’t necessarily represent all types of users & activities, only those represented in some existing literature. • Section 5 identifies users & activity patterns as a supplement to the discussion in Section 4. There is a preliminary discussion of connections between ethnic groups & activity patterns within BISC that raises as many questions as it answers. The emphasis in this section is the gaps in information about issues & data that should be developed in future work. • Section 6 summarizes issues related to users, activities, & sociocultural groups in relation to the major types of resource management issues indicated by the secondary literature & ethnography.

Biscayne National Park: Ethnographic Overview and Assessment

Series