More than 13 million Americans may be displaced due to climate change by the end of this century. Where will they move, and who will decide how it happens?
“Leaving the Island,” a new investigative podcast series, reports from the frontlines of the Great Climate Migration, featuring the voices of historically marginalized communities, concerned scientists and the officials tasked to carry it out. Season One focuses on the 2022 resettlement of the primarily Native American community on Isle de Jean Charles, a barrier island at the tip of Louisiana’s Terrebonne parish that will be completely underwater by 2050.
Albert Naquin, the traditional chief of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, had been trying to move his tribe to higher ground for over two decades when Louisiana was awarded nearly $50 million to resettle the residents in 2016. It was the first federally funded effort of its kind, met with great fanfare. But nearly a decade later, the tribal leadership compares it to the Trail of Tears.
What went so wrong? “Leaving the Island” explores this question, as well as a bigger one more Americans will have to face: What happens when, to survive, you have to leave the only home you’ve ever known?
Listen to the episodes below, or listen and follow on Spotify and Apple.
Episode 1: Ancestral Home
All that’s left of a house on Isle de Jean Charles after Hurricane Ida, 2024. Image: Olga Loginova
It took the former Chief of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, Albert Naquin, over 20 years and two failed attempts to move his tribe from Isle de Jean Charles, a tiny barrier island at the tip of Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish that in his lifetime lost 98% of its land. And with a federal grant of over $48 million awarded to the state of Louisiana in a national competition, Chief Albert’s plan started to become reality. The Isle de Jean Charles resettlement was positioned as a pilot program for other US communities in need of climate relocation. But then, a letter landed on the Governor’s desk and changed everything.
Episode 2: Broken Promises
The resettlement site, The New Isle, under construction, 2023. Image: Olga Loginova
Upon the receipt of the $48.3 million award, the state agency administering the grant, Louisiana’s Office of Community Development (OCD), learned that members of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation were not the only people who called the disappearing Isle home — a fact that forced the OCD to change the resettlement plans. The Jean Charles Choctaw Nation fought back to restore its original vision.
Episode 3: When The Dust Settles
Chris Brunet sorts through his possessions after Hurricane Ida damaged his house on Isle de Jean Charles, 2022. Image: Olga Loginova
In August 2022, a year after Hurricane Ida had devastated Isle de Jean Charles, the first families moved to the resettlement site, The New Isle. As challenges over ongoing construction issues and affordability threaten the sustainability of the new settlement, a new state agency takes over management of the subdivision, bringing its own vision of what success will look like there.
“Leaving The Island” is an Audiation Original Production. It was produced in partnership with Type Investigations. For over two years, Olga has reported this story, reviewing more than 2,000 government and tribal records and conducting nearly 100 hours of interviews with subjects.
The story is based on an earlier print investigation by Columbia Journalism Investigations in partnership with The Center for Public Integrity and Type Investigations, part of the investigative series “Harm’s Way.”
Episode three was partially funded by Columbia Journalism School’s Joan Konner Program in the Journalism of Ideas.
Credits:
Reporter, Co-Producer, Writer and Host: Olga Loginova
Executive Producer and Showrunner: Sandy Smallens
Series Producer: Max Wasserman
Story Editor and Co-Producer: Susie Armitage
Investigative Editor: Sasha Belenky
Cultural Sensitivity Reader: Noah Collins, a citizen of Cherokee and White Mountain Apache Tribes
Audio Editor and Visuals: Colleen Cox
Associate Producer: Matthew Rubenstein
Sound design, mix engineering and original music composition: Tom Sullivan and Paul Vitolins of Audiography
Theme music composition and performance: Mobéy Lola Irizarry
Trailer Mixer: Matt Noble
Voice Actor: Dontonio Demarco
Fact Checkers: Iqra Salah and Zak Cassel
Cover Art: Matt Zivkovic for Mateeya
We’d like to thank the following folks for their assistance with the series: Jane Eisner and Jacob Kramer-Duffield