Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana

Isle de Jean Charles
Isle de Jean Charles
Location of Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana
Isle de Jean Charles
Isle de Jean Charles (the United States)
Coordinates: 29°23′15″N 90°28′59″W / 29.38750°N 90.48306°W / 29.38750; -90.48306
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishTerrebonne
Elevation
2 ft (0.6 m)
Population
 (2019)
  Total
26 families (just over 700 people)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
  Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code985

Isle de Jean Charles (known locally in Louisiana French as Isle à Jean Charles) is a narrow ridge of land situated in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. For over 170 years, it has been the historical homeland and burial ground of the state-recognized tribe of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians. Residents of the Island have long been threatened by Louisiana's coastal erosion, as coastal Louisiana loses a landmass the size of Manhattan every year. In 1955, Isle de Jean Charles consisted of over 22,000 acres (8,900 ha) and has since lost about 98% of its land due to saltwater intrusion, and subsidence. In January 2016, the state of Louisiana received substantial funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund a community resettlement that was designed.