Louisiana is shrinking. Some tribes are fighting to protect what’s left of their communities

POINTE-AU-CHIEN, La. (AP) — Cherie Matherne looked out into Bayou Pointe au Chien, wide enough for several boats to pass through. In the distance, a stand of dead trees marked where saltwater comes and goes during storm-driven flooding.

It wasn’t always this way. The bayou was once shallower and just wide enough for a small boat to pass. Land that cattle once roamed is submerged now, and elders tell stories of tree canopies once so lush they nearly shut out the day.

The delicate lattice of Louisiana’s coastline has been steadily retreating for generations. As it does, the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe and other Indigenous people are fighting to protect what’s left and to adapt to their changing environment. That includes a painstaking effort to build makeshift reefs that slow erosion and