Tribal organizations around the United States have played a major role in helping both Indian and non-Indian victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Six federally recognized Indian tribes are located in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, the states worst hit by Katrina.
Smaller tribes with limited or no federal recognition face extra struggles as bureaucratic practices overlook them. Several tribes that have only received state recognition, including the Muskogees, the Point-Au-Chien, the Biloxi-Chitimacha, and the Houma Nation, reside in the worst-hit areas of Louisiana. Because they are not recognized by the federal government, they will miss out on relief and aid from the U.S. Bureau for Indian Affairs.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and National Indian Gaming Association have assured tribes that even those without federal recognition will receive aid.
"The hurricane didn’t care who was federally recognized or not, and neither does NCAI," NCAI President Tex Hall told Indian Country Today. "We are going to work to make sure that the money sent in to NCAI gets to all of the Indian victims down there as soon as humanly possible."
Tribes in the Gulf Coast region have opened their reservations and businesses to refugees. The Tunica-Biloxi turned the convention center at their Paragon Casino Resort into a crisis center for more than 600 Indian and non-Indian refugees. Similarly, the Mississippi Choctaw, who lost power and are still without water, opened their Pearl River Resort Casino to refugees as a shelter.
"It’s going slowly, but we’re getting there," a receptionist at the Choctaw’s tribal offices said in a telephone interview shortly after communication was restored. "The water will hopefully be back soon . . . It’s not as bad as it could be."
NativeTimes.com reports that tribes in the U.S. Southwest, including the Yavapai Nation and the Navajo, are sending man power as well as monetary and supply donations to the region. The Iowa tribe of Oklahoma, which only has 500 members, has volunteered its firefighters to help in recuperative efforts along the Gulf Coast. Indian Country Today reports that the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine of Montana are sending buffalo meat to those in need of food.
In Connecticut, two of the United States’ casino powerhouses, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, have extended employment offers to evacuees and refugees.
