The Last Days of Isle de Jean Charles
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Tristan Baurick
Environment reporter
When Native Americans settled on Isle de Jean Charles in the early 1800s, it was less an island and more a ridge surrounded by marsh and coastal prairie.
By 1957, the island covered 35 square miles. Now, less than 1 square mile remains. It’s as if Manhattan had been whittled down to half of Central Park over a lifetime.
The island’s population, mostly French-speaking American Indians and their descendants, has fallen from 325 to just a dozen in 20 years.
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ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES - When she was a girl, Theresa “Betty” Billiot would open the back door to a view of cattle grazing in pastures, cotton f…
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Residents of Isle de Jean Charles discuss leaving an imperiled stretch of the Louisiana coast.
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When Native Americans settled on Isle de Jean Charles in the early 1800s, it was less an island and more a ridge surrounded by marsh and coast…
2 updates to this series since
Tristan Baurick
Environment reporter