Tribal chief on Isle de Jean Charles says it's time to leave

Chief Albert Naquin is tired. Tired of seeing his community flooded. Tired of begging for help.

More than a week after Hurricane Gustav pushed water over the ring levee protecting the island in south Terrebonne Parish, where descendants of several American Indian communities still live, Naquin, chief of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians, declared: "This is my last one. I'm not going to keep doing this."

Naquin says it is time for the island's remaining residents to move farther inland, surrendering their way of life to the twin threats of storm surge and coastal erosion.

Even as he spoke, another reminder of the island's vulnerability was closing in. Hurricane Ike brought a 9-foot storm surge a little more than a week later, overtopping the island's 6- to 7-foot levee and swamping homes again. The exasperated chief reiterated what he said after Gustav: This is the last hurricane season he will seek relief for those who refuse to move off the island.

People on the island do not give up easily. For generations, the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians have lived on the low-lying ridge, which they jokingly call "the bathtub." Their community has flooded in so many hurricanes that some residents regard hurricane season as an annual test, an ordeal they endure so they can remain connected to the land.

But storm surges are not the only enemy. The island is slowly eroding into the Gulf of Mexico. Most residents do not have the money to continually rebuild, and the community already knows it will never get stronger levee protection.

So, Naquin and tribal leaders once again will try to rally the community of 150 to 175 people to move to higher ground. This time, he hopes tribal leaders will be successful.

"How much beating can you take before you give up?" asked Naquin, 61. "I'm getting too old to be fighting and trying to help people that don't want to be helped."

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