I’ve been working with tribes along the Louisiana coast for about six-and-a-half years now.
My most recent trip out caught me up with the continued changes across the region. We met with Chief Albert Naquin, took the boat out to some of the tribal lands, and spoke with members of the two tribes living there who grieve for what has been lost and worry for what will one day be taken.
The day that the rest is taken could very well be today — August 29, 2021. Sixteen years to the day since Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi coast and changed my life forever.
I flew down a few months ago (late May 2021) as part of a trip making a documentary film about me and the anti-science movement that has held our country (especially the deep south) hostage during the pandemic. From climate change to infectious disease, the stranglehold that autocrats like Florida Governor Ron Desantis have put on science and truth (and the people who tell it) has cost us hundreds of thousands of lives.
My job was identify what the tribe viewed as their vulnerability, sustainability and adaptability features to climate change (all buzzwords that are grossly over-used).
As a climate and hurricane subject-matter expert, my job was to research what has changed, model what will change, and help the tribe plan for it before it's too late.
As a climate and hurricane subject-matter expert, my job was to research what has changed, model what will change, and help the tribe plan for it before it's too late.
The two tribes that live there - PACIT and IDJC - have been fighting a losing battle for federal recognition for decades. While both are state-recognized tribes in Louisiana, the resources and funding allocated across federally-recognized tribes could have allowed them to put in additional storm protections that they currently lack.
When I was working as a coastal scientist with the state of Louisiana, IDJC were cut out of the levee plan and left vulnerable outside of the state's multi-billion dollar project.A storm hitting from this direction, in this location, with the strength could destroy what's left of an already-disappearing island.
I've worked with both tribes, and documented their history through their own eyes. I've kept in touch with IDJC Chief Albert Naquin - in fact, we visited him and the island just a few months ago. He’s worried for his people and for what this storm might bring with it even after the water subsides.
Remember, if we don't elect scientists to Congress, and we keep science-denying leaders like Matt Gaetz and Ron Desantis in office, we will never make progress as a nation or world in combatting the difficulties of climate change.