American Indian News Alaska Natives question Palin's support Annual tribal gathering canceled for lack of funds Anchorage wants study of Native exodus Ore. tribal leaders worry about native foods NJ Native Americans focus of Corzine directive Specials Expanded Job Tools Section New QuickSearches by location and industry, salary tools, more at the Career Center Graduate/ Professional School Opportunities What's New with the IMDiversity site

Restoring Order After Katrina's Devastation

With Rita quickly following, 4,000 Houma tribal members found homes devastated, rebuilding slow

By Martina Rose Lee

Before Aug. 29, Jared Crosby was living the life of a typical college senior, looking forward to his final semester at Nicholls State University in Lafourche Parish, La., and balancing his part-time job and classes.

Then Hurricane Katrina hit, and the 22-year-old computer science major's life was turned upside down along with those of 3,500 other members of his tribe, the United Houma Nation, which has about 17,000 members.

Despite warnings to evacuate, Crosby, his parents and extended family decided not to go. They boarded windows, cleared debris around their house and stocked food, water and batteries. On Sunday night, Katrina roared ashore.

"Around 9 p.m., the lights went out--all night, the rain poured in, and you could hear the gust of wind blowing through the trees, and every once in a while, you could feel it shake the house," Crosby recalled.

The Crosbys survived, and their house incurred little damage, but many members of their tribe were not as lucky. When Katrina struck the Louisiana coast, among communities it devastated were the small Houma Indian settlements in lower Plaquemines, St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes, located in the lower bayou region south of New Orleans. Vice Principal Chief Michael Dardar was among more than 1,000 tribal members left homeless.

"We're managing, my wife and I along with our grandchildren," Dardar said. "We are going to get a trailer and settle in the Raceland area. ... It'll be a year before we can return to our community."

After the Storm

After the storm, Crosby had to make major adjustments. Classes were relocated, National Guard troops roamed the campus and displaced students from New Orleans transferred to Nicholls State. He signed up to help at the hurricane relief center in Raceland where he unloads trucks and stocks shelves. When he finishes work there, he helps Principal Chief Brenda Dardar Robichaux answer e-mail and update the tribe's Web site.

"I get home around midnight," Crosby said. "I then do my school work and go to bed to do it all again the next day."

His efforts haven't gone unnoticed.

"Jared has been working hard maintaining the Web site," Robichaux said. "He has been a major help to our relief efforts. Within this last month, we have had over 93,000 hits, and our updates are quoted on radio, e-mail and newspapers. [The Web site] helps people learn about our community."

Jared Crosby works on the United Houma Nation Web site at Principal Chief Brenda Dardar Robichaux's house.

Crosby's sister, Nicole, 25, was planning her wedding before Katrina hit. She has put that on hold to help with the relief effort in Lafourche Parish. A social worker, she is accustomed to helping people.

"It's about sacrifice, giving of yourself and your time to help these people out," she said. "They are in much more need than I am."

When Hurricane Rita quickly followed Katrina, matters worsened. Rita's massive storm surge pushed into the bayous and the Houma communities of Dulac, Grand Caillou, Montegut, Pointe-aux-Chene and Isle de Jean Charles, which were inundated with as much as eight feet of water. Rita devastated homes of 4,000 tribal members.

Throughout the aftermath, the United Houma Nation has not received significant federal aid. The nation is "state recognized" with no federal recognition, Dardar said.

The tribe is seeking volunteers to clean up, distribute goods, rebuild communities and help satisfy people's basic needs. In some communities, trees and debris must be removed and roofs repaired, while others need major cleaning as floodwaters recede and total reconstruction of homes.

"The outpouring of support from our fellow native communities through our time of tragedy has been tremendous," Robichaux said. "All of the offers of assistance and prayers are greatly appreciated."

"Houma is not just a piece of land," she added. "It's our rich heritage. It's our people, generation after generation."

HOW TO HELP If you would like to volunteer to help with rebuilding Houma settlements, please call the United Houma Nation Tribal Office at (985) 475-6640.   Financial donations in the form of checks can be sent to: United Houma Nation Hurricane Relief 20986 Hwy 1 Golden Meadow, LA 70357   To make a donation via wire transfer to the United Houma Nation Hurricane Relief Fund, please call the Tribal Office at (985) 475-6640.   For updates, visit the United Houma Nation Web site

Photo Gallery from the United Houma Nation @ Reznet Isle de Jean Charles Cemetery Fly-Over Fly-Over II Flood Flood II All photos provided by the United Houma Nation and are used with permission.

Martina Rose Lee, Navajo, is a 2004 graduate of the American Indian Journalism Institute. She attends Arizona State University in Tempe, where she wrote this report.

This article originally appeared at the web site RezNet: News and views from Native American Students, and is reposted here with permission.  Please do not reprint further without permission of the copyright holder.