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Hurricane Katrina and Rita Information

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-Chene, 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.