May 18, 2026
In January 2026, the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation withdrew our civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regarding the Louisiana Office of Community Development’s (OCD) implementation of the Isle de Jean Charles Resettlement Program. After receiving a $48.3 million Community Development Block Grant from HUD to assist with our resettlement, OCD unilaterally transformed our Tribal reunification plan into a top-down relocation of Island residents lacking key cultural components from the original plan. Our complaint alleges that OCD’s changes to the project, such as cutting Tribal leadership out of decision-making and failing to meaningfully include Tribal members or provide language support for members with limited English, violated protections under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Our decision to withdraw the complaint does not reflect on the validity of our allegations. In fact, OCD’s subsequent decision making about the New Isle, including its decision to transfer the project to South Central Planning and Development Commission in July 2025, has continued the pattern of disrespecting our Tribe and disregarding our resettlement goals. However, in the nearly two years since HUD officials began investigating our complaint, we witnessed substantial reductions in HUD’s fair housing and civil rights enforcement capacity that left us with no choice but to seek other options for achieving our reunification goals.
For over two decades, we have invested immense time, resources, and hope in designing a Resettlement Plan to restore our whole community, preserve our culture and place, and provide a safe and viable place for our Tribal citizens to continue to thrive for generations to come. We continue our ongoing efforts to see our Tribal resettlement and reunification vision through, for our people and cultural survival for generations to come.
For more information regarding our Tribe’s resettlement and struggle for cultural survival, visit our website, http://www.isledejeancharles.com/our-resettlement.
Media Contact: Daniela Colaiacovo
Communications Director, EarthRights International
daniela.colaiacovo@earthrights.org
