Blending Indigenous and Maroon Worldviews to Protect a Sacred Waterway
Patuxent Riverkeepers Keep the Faith Through Committed Advocacy
“Every shade, facet and aspect of the human spiritual experience is embodied within our very human scale and heartfelt connections to sacred water.”
— Fred Tutman, Patuxent River Keeper
The Patuxent River (Algonquin - water running over loose stones) flows in an earthscape that has embraced and protected Indigenous and Maroon peoples for centuries. As one of the primary tributaries flowing into the Chesapeake Bay it was home to Patuxent and Piscataway peoples in the times preceding the assaults of European settlers. According to the National Park Service there is “evidence of maroon communities of self-liberated enslaved people in the 1720s in Maryland, when legislation was passed specifically to punish and prevent enslaved people from running to the remote marshy areas on the Eastern Shore. Later acts targeted those who engaged in unauthorized transportation of enslaved persons by boat.”
Personal Connection
Ketu Oladuwa, our Proven Sustainable Conversations lead interviewer, writes, “In life, relationship is everything and it begins with I am… From the common I am, I see that You are.” It was Ketu’s friend, Caroline Brewer, organizer of the Taking Nature Black conferences, who introduced Ketu and our team to Fred Tutman.
The Waterkeepers Alliance
Fred’s work is intentionally hyper-focused more locally on Maryland’s Patuxent River, but he’s part of the larger Waterkeepers Alliance, a global movement of community-based advocates united for clean, healthy, and abundant water for all people and the planet. They preserve and protect 2.7 million square miles of waterways by connecting over 300 local Waterkeeper groups worldwide in 47 countries.
Regionally, Fred is also involved with Waterkeepers Chesapeake, a coalition of 17 independent Waterkeeper programs working locally, using grassroots action and advocacy to protect their communities and their waters. They advocate for citizen-based enforcement of environmental laws in the Chesapeake region.
“These underdogs were taking on government bureaucrats and powerful corporate polluters and they were winning. That seemed like such a huge thing – these Waterkeepers who were sort of water-quality guerillas unafraid to stand up to a woefully inadequate water-protection system! What I’ve tried to do is to create a watershed protection movement that is truly representative of the hearts, minds and souls of the very diverse people and communities along the Patuxent River corridor.” — Fred Tutman
Patuxent Rivekeepers
The Patuxent Riverkeeper Center, which Fred founded in 2004, focuses on conserving, protecting and replenishing Maryland's longest and deepest intrastate waterway. Through strategic advocacy, restoration and education, their goal is long-term sustainability for the ecosystem of the entire Patuxent River basin and the people who rely on its future.
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Fred and Grandmother Rabiah, whose work intersects Fred’s educating the public about the significance of working together for collective health and restoration. View the conversation below to learn more about their integral efforts, worldviews, and diverse experiences
We hope that you will consider learning more about the projects we’re featuring and supporting them. We look forward to sharing our future posts on themes of food sovereignty, language preservation and more!
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The Proven Sustainable™ Conversation Series is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.