Detroit River Stories

Lissa MacVean is currently a researcher and lecturer at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, where she studies the physics of water in lakes, estuaries and marine coastal environments. But before she began her more formal studies of waterways, Lissa actually grew up along the Detroit riverfront in a commune based out of the Episcopal Church of the Messiah, which was dedicated to high-quality, affordable housing, “shared economic lifestyle,” and racial integration. 

In this episode, we explore Lissa’s childhood in the commune, how this connects to her present work studying the physics of bodies of water, and the lasting impact of the now-dissolved Detroit riverfront commune.

City of Detroit Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero discusses how her representation of District 6 stems from her childhood calling to protect the water and fight for justice, from Puerto Vallarta to Detroit. She also addresses how both increased ICE activity along the Detroit River and Detroit's status as a "border city" impacts residents' relationships with the waterfront, especially those of undocumented immigrants. Finally, she details her work with other representatives and local organizations to change policies that have limited vulnerable populations' intimacy with the Detroit River, making different futures--and histories--possible.

University of Michigan English & Education graduate student Marquise Griffin recounts a summer internship spent sailing a schooner along the Detroit River and Great Lakes that shaped his understanding of the intersection of blackness, boating, movement, and literacy--particularly being able to read and write oneself as a "water person" of color. He also explores how this experience has deeply informed his own pedagogy of transformative (dis)orientation and (dis)comfort.

The final episode of season one features conversations from three chance encounters at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. On August 21st, 2021, Planet Detroit and Friends of the Rouge hosted a Storybooth Blitz, welcoming all who happened across the booth on the riverfront that day to share their stories and memories of the water--and they did, telling tales of a small band of activists protecting the watershed one creek and wetland at a time; a downstream small town recreating itself in the face of industrial abandonment; and a girlhood and womanhood spent on the water that traces the decline and revitalization of the Detroit Riverfront. 

Family Chiefs of the Wyandot of Anderdon Nation Sue Szachta and Linda Filipek discuss how the Detroit River has acted as border, connection, and home at various times in the Nation's history, as well as how the River informs their personal relationship with Six Points at Gibraltar, a site that is both sacred ancestral burial grounds and an up-and-coming educational center that brings awareness to ecology, history, and Indigenous issues. Sue and Linda both hear the River calling them to embrace their histories and futures as "water people." Do you?

Tepfirah Rushdan discusses her personal experiences with the Detroit River as a site of spiritual connection, ceremony, and cleansing and how this has influenced her leadership in organizations like the Black to the Land Coalition, which strives to reconnect Black and Brown folks with the land and water from which they have historically been alienated. She also addresses the connection between land allotment along the River and the oft-neglected legacy of Black farming practices. Finally, she looks toward the future and how these farming practices may play a crucial role in combating climate change in the Great Lakes region.

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/detroit-river-story-lab/

Erma Leaphart recounts her childhood spent along the Detroit River and how this shaped her sense of connection to and eventual advocacy for the entire Great Lakes water system. She  illuminates how, in the face of climate change and the numerous challenges it poses for the Great Lakes, we might persevere together in hope and in recognition of the water as kindred, as the very blood coursing through her veins--and our own.

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/detroit-river-story-lab/