The United States First Climate Relocation: Recognition, Relocation, and Indigenous Rights at the Isle de Jean Charles

While this article focuses almost exclusively on the Isle de Jean Charles relocation, it hopes to be useful to other climate induced relocations. Section I begins with a discussion of the two major factors contributing to the disappearance of Louisiana’s coast, the blocking of the Mississippi River and the oil industry. In Section II, the article provides an overview of federal recognition, a short history of Louisiana’s coastal tribes, and how being denied federal recognition has impacted them. Section III compares federal Indian law with the rights of indigenous peoples under international law, along with a discussion of the numerous international indigenous human rights violations Louisiana’s coastal tribes have suffered. Then in Section IV, the article discusses the initial confusion surrounding the relocation grant. Section V then provides a summary of Phase I of the relocation project. Finally, Section VI explores unanswered questions relating to the grant