2024 has been the hardest year of my life, a microcosm mirroring trauma all around the world. For one thing, we lost Teala, my cat of 19+ years and Bubbles, my brother’s dog of 16+ years just in the last month - and our fur fam is forever fam. 

Moreover, my mother had a major stroke and severe brain bleed the night of April 30/morning of May 1. While she physically survived and despite battling Parkinson’s since 2007, her mind was taken from us in a way in which nothing will ever be the same. As one of millions of families, her health insurance provider (aetna, for the record) - despite being a Medicare plan - has denied home health services including the physical, occupational and speech therapy she desperately needs. Not to mention, suddenly thrusting me into a full time caregiver role. 

I am grateful the Windcall Institute, the 35 year old healing justice organization where I have been serving as Program Director since 2022, extended its caretaking leave policy beyond parental leave. I was able to take 3 months paid leave to adjust to the new reality this summer. However, since returning to work in September, I rarely find time to catch my breath. My next advocacy and activism efforts are poised to be towards the healthcare industry, recognizing that they get away with murder (literally) because nobody ever holds them accountable. (Sounds familiar? Hello, oil & gas industry, right?)

I’ve also served as co-chair of Eyewitness Palestine’s (EP) Board of Directors since February 2023. I’m extraordinarily proud of the tremendous virtual delegation and series of webinars EP produces educating the public to get beyond the headlines and stereotypes to really understand the true realities of life in Palestine. EP also sent a medical delegation to Gaza this spring. I will never forget the voice notes from Nancy (EP’s amazing Executive Director) with the piercing whistle of rockets in the background. 

As I write this, EP’s “Black In The Holy Land” delegation in the West Bank is wrapping - the first since the most recent war started. In fact, on October 6, 2023, Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative members and allies had just completed our first orientation for a delegation we were planning. Unfortunately, instead of going last December, it was put on hold indefinitely. One of my biggest wishes in 2025 is to see this mutual aid / cultural organizing delegation finally come to fruition. 

My personal understanding of justice changed forever on EP’s “Community Arts as Resistance” delegation to Palestine in 2019. I’ve dreamed of this act of solidarity for our Collaborative ever since, as I deeply believe the liberation of Palestine is entwined with us all. From the river to the sea, Palestine WILL be free - and it our obligation to show up however we can to make it so. Free, Free Palestine.

The South Texas Environmental Justice Network (STEJN) was established at the beginning of 2020 including various organizations, campaigns, individuals, and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas. The STEJN was co-founded by two AGIP members including myself and Patricia Rubio. Together, along with other co-founders Christopher Basaldú and Josette Angelique Hinojosa, STEJN has been a force to reckon with in South Texas, taking on some of the biggest polluters and winning campaigns.

STEJN mission is to put an end to the environmental, social, and economic injustices in deep South Texas. The network plans to achieve this by building an active community of Rio Grande Valley advocates and encouraging historically marginalized voices to speak up and be heard. The do this with grassroots organizing, education, workshops, participatory campaigns and direct support for those impacted by disaster.

STEJN has already had several wins this past year and continues with its advocacy into the new year.

• Federal Appeals Court Reverses Approval of Massive LNG Export Plants in South TexasFederal Appeals Court Reverses Approval of Massive LNG Export Plants in South Texas

• Insurance Giant Chubb Shows 'Promising Leadership' by Dropping Texas LNG Project

South Texas

Just Recovery Workshop

Climate Change has spurred disaster season to be year-round, not just hurricane season. STEJN found a need for their Just-Recovery Kits through their community organizing efforts in the county’s Colonias and through disaster relief workshops aimed at Colonia families. 

The Just Recovery Kits are the centerpiece of STEJN’s rapid response/mutual aid work. The kits serve as a “hub” for community members to help each other in their time of need. In partnership with Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, the South Texas EJ Network members have distributed close to two hundred kits in Hidalgo and Cameron counties since 2021. 

(1) To address the lack of support from county officials, provide clean water (when RGV has none), provide energy source (when RGV’s is unreliable) and the state’s energy grid fails. 

(2) To build a network of community members that can help their family, neighbors, and immediate community. It’s also to create a community of support. 

Water filtration systems, 5-gallon water jugs, gloves, PPE, solar charging packs for phones and computers (power banks), non-toxic insect repellent, carbon monoxide alarms (for gas generators), disaster prep information in English & Spanish, and contact information for maintenance.

2024 Another Gulf is Possible work focused on trading knowledge with ally communities, strengthening network relationships and building a collaborative infrastructure that fosters the capacity to share the wisdom and skills we’ve learned with many more grassroots communities.

Being a member of this collaborative took many of us all over the world in 2024. These photos are just a brief look back at where I was reppin’ AGIP.

COP 16 Biodiversity Conference

Cali, Columbia

This year was the year to push the limits of creative transformation. I was able to host La Casa Frijol’s first artist in residence, Liz Lob, jewelry designer, a friend and creative partner who came to spend time and find refuge on a wild piece of land where a bounty of native prairie grasses grow.

A place that has in some ways called me to be still and listen to what the wildlife is saying. Species of birds, pollinators, and even a rare endangered Texas native type of orchid by the name of Ladies’ Tresses that live in fungi-rich soils invited me to steward this home.

Inspired by native beauty of the blooms we’ve had these seasons, this year Liz and I participated in the Avant-Garden Trash Fashion for the #TrashmakeoverChallenge2024 with Texas Campaign for the Environment.

An immersive collaboration and labor of love for the craft of fashion, design, and innovation rooted in environmental stewardship. A challenge to rethink our trash and dive deep into conscious consumerism or at the very least think about what we purchase because of the waste we produce.

An endeavor that took months in the making, not just to collect packaging and things considered to be waste, but also a process of brainstorming how we would transform trash into something wearable and innovative.

Some of the materials included; 1,000+ plastic grocery bags ♻ 26 Plastic bottles, 80+ aluminum can rings pulls, 8 garden soil bags, 14 plastic beer holders, miscellaneous construction materials, and cable wrapping. It was amazing what a year of collecting packaging could inspire when it came to designing our garments and keep plastic out of our landfills or oceans through our creative ingenuity.

Influenced by the nature that surrounds us at La Casa Frijol we were able to challenge ourselves to work with trash as our medium to create beautiful garments that told the story of resiliency, fragility, and symbiosis with our immediate environments. Not only did we turn waste into beautiful wearable pieces of art we also learned valuable lessons in the need to create spaces for mutual support, harmony, and the interconnectedness of all living things.

We hope 2025 brings more opportunities to promote art as activism, creative collaborations, and cultivating seeds of radical imaginations.

Rio Bravo Office Space was established on a hot 2023 summer day in the city of Brownsville Texas. There was an idea to create a safe place for collaborative groups, grassroots organizations and community gatherings.  

The office space was uncovered by Another Gulf is Possible members of the RGV with a vision. Since the Rio Bravo office opened, we have used the space for phone banking, community outreach events, teach-ins, meetings, interviews with reporters, organizing and campaign efforts in 2024. The office has also served as storage for hurricane relief supplies. 

It has now grown into a space for South Texas Environmental Justice Network, a network of Rio Grande Valley residents. The Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas has also used this space for meetings, information and education gatherings. 

The office space has also served as a Just Recovery Hub for Just Recovery Kits and hurricane relief supplies delivered by AGIP members in Houston using the Just Recovery Transporter. We have also had poster painting gatherings for various actions protesting against Space X, several LNG terminals and pipelines. The Rio Bravo Office has grown into a center for creativity, community and resistance, a true Movement Space.

RGV Flora & Fauna Facts

One of the projects I have been most passionate about is starting the AGIP South Texas Seed Bank. So far, I have collected Rio Grande Valley Native plants like Betony Mistflower, Fire Wheel, Heart Shape Leaf Hibiscus and more.  

This seed bank was created to help micro green spaces in RGV gardens. Our garden is located in Harlingen, Texas at a collaborative member's parent’s home and maintained by Patricia Rubio. We have handed out seeds at community events and will make seed packets to leave at the Rio Bravo Office Space in Brownsville, Texas in 2025.

• The Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas is rich with butterfly species that may not be found elsewhere in the country like the Mexican Blue wing and two Barred flasher.

• The Rio Grande Valley is home to over 30 species of specialty birds, including the Green Jay, Altamira Oriole, Ringed Kingfisher and many others. The sub-tropical climate provides warm year-round temperatures, which occasionally attract Mexican rarities.

A Midwinter Solstice Reflection

by Ramsey Sprague

Pointe-au-Chien, Louisiana - The Pointe-au-Chien Tribal Center was a hub of herbal medicine making and wellness in Fall 2023 and Summer 2024 when I was invited by tribal members to share herbal education and medicine making skills. I had a great time making herbal medicine with the fine folks at the Pointe-au-Chien way down the bayou.  

The Pointe-Au-Chien Indian Tribal Community (PACIT) is located along the Gulf Coast on the lands of their Chitimacha ancestors and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas in Louisiana. Their small community speaks a dialect of Indian French that is uniquely theirs and recently opened their own language immersion school. In 1993, they became incorporated in the state of Louisiana. While they filed for federal recognition with the US Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1996, they're still waiting for that confirmation.

They are among the first responders to climate change and among the first climate refugees due to salt water intrusion and rapid land loss. They live off the water and are skilled fishermen who hunt alligators, catch shrimp, oysters and crabs, However their ability to live off the land is deeply impacted by saltwater intrusion, reduction of barrier islands and the lack of fresh water to replenish the soil. This has caused many of their plant medicines to become at-risk of being lost, and indeed some have already been lost. 

Their rich culture also includes healers called Treateurs, recognized healers who worked with the Plant Nation to provide healing from sickness with the use of traditional plants and prayers.

I worked alongside Theresa Dardar to lead the two herb workshops and medicine making skill shares. We enjoyed rich discussions around local plants, referencing their recently published book, “Traditional Medicine and Food Plants of the Isle de Jean Charles and Pointe-au-Chien” as we shared the fresh peach, pêche, leaves.

The hands-on experiential herb workshops focused on brewing elderberry syrup, fire cider, herbal oils and salves including a batch of all natural insect/mosquito repellent and a lovely calendula and plantain oil. The class also made a nice yarrow powder with enough of each medicine to share with their tribal community

They recently began a green house project to begin growing medicinal plants in an effort to re-establish those that have already been lost or are at-risk. Theresa Dardar shared, “The workshops were enjoyed by all who attended. We learned while having fun. Everyone was willing to get involved in preparing ingredients or anything else that needed to be done. Anne is so generous with her time and her knowledge. We truly appreciate her coming to our community to do these workshops! A huge Thank You!”

To end the workshop summer workshop, they had prepared a crawfish boil and a crab boil! All love, all herbs and food, and all good medicine.