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Lowlander Board President Theresa Dardar and Vice President Rosina Philippe participated in the Gulf Research Program’s inaugural Gulf-Alaska Knowledge Exchange. May Nguyen, another Lowlander board member, is also on the steering committee for the Exchange.
The Lowlander Center was recently featured in the Optimist Daily’s Local Changemakers Series!
Give a sweet gift this season with a yummy way to help rebuild people's lives and communities.
See's Candies will donate a portion of their profits to the Lowlander Center for all items purchased through our direct link: Lowlander - See's Candies.
The National Tribal and Indigenous Climate Conference held in Anchorage, September 9-12, was an opportunity for learning, sharing and deepening connections in and between Indigenous peoples. Many youth, mainly from Alaska, joined the event as presenters and participants. Isabela Salinas was one of the representatives from the Louisiana Hub. What follows are her observations and learnings from her full engagement in the meeting.
R. Eugene Turner & Elijah I. Ohimain have recently published an article in the Journal of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation. The article, titled “Dredged Canals, Wetland Loss, and Legacy” explains how canal dredging caused almost all of Louisiana’s land loss and that river diversions are a waste of resources.
The Rising Voices Center for Indigenous and Earth Sciences has just published core principles for community-led adaptation and climate actions!
On Friday, September 20th, 2024, Grand Bayou Indian Village was gifted with the return of one of our sacred mounds. "Lemon Tree" mound has been returned to the ownership of its people.
In the wake of Hurricane Francine, the Lowlander Center was able to set up emergency, portable solar panels at the tribal center for the Grand Caillou/Dulac peoples.
Theresa Dardar (Lowlander Center Board President) and Kristina Peterson (Lowlander Center co-founder) were recently interviewed by Yale Climate Connections on the Pointe-au-Chien Tribe’s rebuilding efforts.
An intern from Harvard College joined Lowlander Center for 2 and a half months this summer.
For a hot week in August folks gathered in DeRidder, LA to learn and build portable solar units to be used both in blue skies and in disaster situations. Rev. Jerry Egbert and Boksoon Egbert hosted a crew of eager learners from across the coast. At the end of the week, one complete unit was taken away on the back of a pickup truck and delivered to Grand Bayou.
Elder Rosina Philippe, Vice President of the Lowlander Center Board, was recently awarded the Bob Gough Award for Climate Justice in Action. The Bob Gough Award for Climate Justice in Action was created to recognize an individual from within the Rising Voices community for their long-term and dedicated service to climate justice.
Check out the short video and article on the Pointe-au-Chien tribal community’s efforts to resiliently rebuild their ancestral homelands after recent natural disasters.
We were so thrilled to hear about the new protections recently passed by the EPA, thanks to the work of RISE St. James among other community based organizations. You can read the full press release below.
The Lowlander Center was recently featured in an article about the effects of climate change on Indigenous groups living in the coastal bayous.
Theresa Dardar, Donald Dardar, and Kristina Peterson discuss land loss as the first part of the PBS docuseries “In Their Element: Earth, Air, Fire, Water.” Watch it here!
A new report by Naomi Yoder and Sheehan Moore analyzes pollution incidents that occurred directly or indirectly due to Hurricane Ida.
“We are taking this effort . . . so we can maintain the integrity of the community.” – Elder Shirell Parfait-Dardar, Grand Caillou Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Choctaw Tribe
Lowlander Center will be a partner in the research hub lead by Haskell Indian Nations University.
Lowlander President Theresa Dardar is featured in an article about indigenous healers, called traiteurs, who are working to preserve knowledge of medicinal plants and traditional healing practices.
On June 24, 2022, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards participated in a ceremonial signing of HB 261 to create École Pointe-au-Chien, a culturally reflective French immersion school in the community.
Lowlander members have authored two new research reports published through the Natural Hazards Center. Read the abstracts and follow links to the full reports.
Last week, team members for the canal backfilling project presented at the Aspen Institute’s Rural Opportunity and Development (ROAD) Sessions for their event on Climate-Smart Solutions from Rural America and Native Nations.
Resources to contextualize the fight to stop the Formosa Plastics plant in St James, Louisiana. Our partner organization, Rise St. James, is working to halt the expansion of the Petrochemical Corridor and protect ancestral sites.
Lowlander Center members presented during panel “At What Point Managed Retreat? Resilience, Relocation, and Climate Justice” at the Columbia Climate School conference.
The Lowlander Center is proud to share that our efforts to promote resilient rebuilding in Lake Charles through the Disaster Justice Network have been recognized on local news!
View the news segment here: https://www.kplctv.com/2021/06/12/how-experts-are-saying-prepare-your-home-next-storm/
On the first day of Atlantic Hurricane Season, Healthy Gulf is releasing an Analysis of Hurricane Ida Pollution Reports titled Murky Waters: Hurricane Preparedness and Response for Polluters Long Overdue.