Tribes Impacted by Hurricane Katrina & other Useful Information
Tribes Impacted by Hurricane Katrina & other Useful Information
Bayou Lafourche Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha:
Chief Randy Verdun, Bayou Lafourche Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha: (225) 485-8765, Randy_Verdun@albemarle.com
Coushatta Tribe of Louisianna: http://www.coushattatribela.org/
Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha:
Chairman Marlene Foret, Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha: (985) 594-6593, mmforet@mobiletel.com
Isle de Jean Charles Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha:
Chief Albert Naquin, Isle de Jean Charles Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha: (985) 232-1286, whitebuffaloa@netscape.net
Jena Band of Choctaw Indians: http://www.jenachoctaw.org/
National Congress of American Indians: www.ncai.org
They are coordinating national fundraising efforts for tribes impacted by the hurricane. There are lots of news stories about how and to what extent tribes have been impacted on their home page.
National Native American Law Students Association: www.nationalnalsa.org
This website has links to all of the tribal websites of tribes impacted by the hurricane.
Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe:
Chairman Charles Verdin, Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe: (985) 594-6250, cell (985) 856-5336, pacit@thecowscorner.com
For more information: Patty Ferguson, Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe, Ferguson@SacksTierney.com
Sovereign Nation of the Chitimacha: http://www.chitimacha.com/
Jen-I'm not sure if this is the same tribe as the Bands of Biloxi-Chitimacha listed above or if they are affiliated with each other.
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana: http://www.tunica.org/
United Houma Nation: http://www.unitedhoumanation.org/
United Houma Nation Principal Chief Brenda Dardar Robichaux: bdr@unitedhoumanation.org
Hurricane Katrina and Rita Information (from the Houma website)
On August 29 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept ashore on the Louisiana coast. Among those communities devastated by her impact were the small Houma Indian settlements in lower Plaquemines, lower St. Bernard, and lower Jefferson parishes. The population of these Indian settlements, some 3500 tribal citizens, was hit hard by the storm. Over one thousand of that number were left homeless, their homes completely destroyed by wind and water.
As the tribe struggled to bring aid to its citizens and channel its few resources to their benefit another tragedy loomed on the horizon.
Hurricane Rita entered the Gulf of Mexico and tracked westward towards Louisiana. At risk was the core of the Houma Indian population which resides in the lower bayou region of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.
While we avoided the direct impact that devasted our eastern communities by Katrina, the "near miss" by Rita pushed a massive storm surge into the bayous and our more populous settlements in lower Terrebonne went underwater. The Houma communities of Dulac, Grand Caillou, Montegut, Pointe-aux-Chien, and Isle de Jean Charles were inundated with seven or eight feet of water. The tribe now had a additional four thousand of its citizens with houses devastated by the effects of this new storm.
If you want to Volunteer or Donate to help out with the hurricane relief effort, contact the Houma Tribal Government at bdr@unitedhoumanation.org or (985) 475-6640. We will continue to provide more information on the extent of the damage to our various communities and relief efforts in the near future.