Indigenous Histories and Fossil Fuel Realities in Louisiana
From Standard Oil to the BP Oil Disaster
Presented by Monique Verdin, United Houma Nation
About the Program
United Houma Nation citizen Monique Verdin explores the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the ongoing effects on the people of coastal South Louisiana, from the early 20th century to modern times.
On April 20, 2022, it was 14 years since BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster began uncontrollably spewing sweet crude into the sacred waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Monique Verdin explores the past and present realities of the Houma Nation’s complicated relationship with the fossil fuel industry and the side-effects of extractive practices in the coastal wetlands of South Louisiana, from the early 20th century to modern times.
About the Author and Presenter
Monique Verdin is an interdisciplinary storyteller who documents the complex relationship between environment, culture, and climate in southeast Louisiana. She is a citizen of the Houma Nation, director of The Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange, and a member of the Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, working to envision just economies, vibrant communities, and sustainable ecologies. Monique is supporting the Okla Hina Ikhish Hola (People of the Sacred Medicine Trail), a network of indigenous gardeners, as the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network Gulf South food and medicine sovereignty program manager. She is co-producer of the documentary “My Louisiana Love” and her work has been included in a variety of environmentally inspired projects, including the multiplatform performance “Cry You One” and the collaborative book “Return to Yakni Chitto: Houma Migrations“.