Hurricane Katrina brings tribal members back home

Chitimacha and Tunica-Biloxi homes destroyed in New Orleans region

By Brenda Norrell Indian Country Today

NEW ORLEANS - Chitimacha and Tunica-Biloxi tribal members living in the New Orleans area are among the refugees from Hurricane Katrina, some losing everything to the hurricane and flooding.

At the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe in Marksville, Pat Foster, administrative assistant to Chairman Earl Jr. Barbry Sr., said eight to 10 Tunica-Biloxi families lost their homes in Metairie and Slidell, in the New Orleans area.

''They are here right now, staying with relatives. We have had so many callers offering to help. It has been great,'' Foster told Indian Country Today.

Foster said the families are receiving assistance from the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and offers have come from across the nation. In Oregon, one person offered acres of land for tribal members to rebuild their homes and their lives.

Foster said all Tunica-Biloxi tribal members living in the New Orleans area have now been accounted for. Some left with only the clothes they were wearing.

''Right now, they are looking for jobs,'' Foster said.

The United South and Eastern Tribes said the Chitimacha Tribe was the most affected tribe in the region.

Wanda Janes, USET tribal liaison officer, said more than 200 members of Chitimacha living in the New Orleans area were first evacuated to Arkansas, then relocated to the Chitimacha tribal land in Louisiana.

''Many of these members are returning to the reservation to seek shelter, due to loss of their homes,'' Janes said.

As a result the Chitimacha Tribe has set up a shelter and is expecting several hundred people will need housing for an extended period of time, she said.

The Chitimacha Tribe in Charenton could not be reached by telephone on Sept. 6.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama, the Seminole Tribe in Florida, and Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina have all been helping tribes affected by the hurricane and storms.

The National American Indian Housing Council said the Poarch Creek will serve as a staging area for equipment and supplies and assist in transportation to the Chitimacha Tribe. The Poarch Creek Band said they will be using their emergency response trailers and a police escort to get the supplies to Chitimacha.

Susan Wicker, executive director of the Poarch Creek, said they are expecting more tribal members to come over the weekend. She said they were aware of 50 - 60 displaced families coming back to the reservation.

Tribal members are facing a lack of gasoline and electricity. The tribe is monitoring gas, but has a supply for their work vehicles at this time. She reported that families were doubling and tripling up in houses to shelter newcomers to the reservation.

Telephone calls to other areas of Louisiana, including northern Louisiana where a large number of evacuees were relocated, revealed that numerous gas stations were out of gas and station owners did not know when they would receive more.

NAIHC Executive Director Gary Gordon said, ''We are concerned with the devastation to families and applaud the work of those tribes who have stepped up quickly with generators, supplies, water, food and ice.

''Housing is going to be an issue for tribal members as those who have lost homes, jobs and more will be moving in with other families for the long-term. This is going to stress an already overburdened housing supply on reservations.''