Louisiana Is Shrinking. Some Tribes Are Fighting to Protect What’s Left of Their Communities

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.

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

By Dorany Pineda 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…