Indian Tribes and Katrina: Overlooked by the Government, Relief Organizanations, ...

Though there has been massive attention to the devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina, some victims have been overlooked. An estimated 4,500 American Indians living along the southeast Louisiana coast lost everything to Hurricane Katrina according to state officials and tribal leaders. Hurricane Rita, which hit four weeks after Katrina, dealt another blow to the tribes. Officials estimate that 5,000-6,000 American Indians lost their homes or possessions in that storm. The Louisiana tribes most affected by the back-to-back hurricanes are the United Houma Nation, the Pointe-au-Chien Tribe, the Isle de Jean Charles Indian Band of Biloxi-Chitimasha, the Grand Caillou-Dulac Band and the Biloxi-Chitimasha Confederation of Muskogees.

Tribal leaders have complained that they are being overlooked by the media, by relief organizations and by the federal government. Houma Nation Chief Brenda Dardar-Robichaux said in an article published in the Houma Nation newspaper last week, "We are an Indian tribe here that is falling through the cracks. Nobody has made contact with us except the native media. Everything we are doing has been a grassroots effort, and it's taken weeks to get this far with the help of many volunteers and private donations. We're basically doing it on our own." The problem is made worse for the Houma nation and some of the smaller tribes because they lack federal recognition from the government and the accompanying money that comes with such official acknowledgement.

* Brenda Dardar-Robichaux, Principal Chief of United Houma Nation.
* Charles Verdin, Chairman of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe.

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/10/1335220