Preserving the memory of Louisiana's sinking Isle de Jean-Charles

Perpignan – The Isle de Jean-Charles, on the coast of Louisiana in the United States, is on course to disappear within two generations as a result of climate change and oil extraction. Since the 1950s almost 98 percent of the island has been swallowed by the salty waters of the Gulf of Mexico – a phenomenon being documented by French photographer Sandra Mehl.

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Isle de Jean-Charles in south-eastern Louisiana has lost 98 percent of its 1955 surface area, and is now just a thin strip of land surrounded by the water of the bayou. © Sandra Mehl

"What touched me enormously was not only bearing witness to the effects of global warming, but also showing what is disappearing and preserving the memory of what once was," Mehl told RFI, who's been photographing its sinking since 2016. 

"Especially since on this island there was a community of French-speaking Indians with an extremely unique and rich culture."

Those Indians were the first official climate refugees in the US.

On the Isle de Jean-Charles, 130 kilometres south of New Orleans, hurricanes have become more and more frequent. Climate change has destroyed all or most of the inhabitants' homes, as well as infrastructure such as roads, schools and fire stations.

"It creates a kind of idleness and at the same time, there is a lot of courage," Mehl says.

Denecia and Wenceslaus Billiot have always lived on Jean-Charles Island and intend to stay there forever. But one year after the photo was taken, Wenceslaus died, then Denecia died the following year, before Hurricane Ida hit in 2021, partially destroying their home. (2017) © Sandra Mehl

The residents have had to leave the area and have been relocated 70 kilometres north in Gray, which sits on higher land.

Some of them were not eligible for ressettlement while others preferred not to leave the island.

"They are the first official climate refugees in the sense that this is the first time an entire community has been relocated to more sustainable land and that this programme is supported by the US federal government," Mehl says.

In 2022, the Ile de Jean-Charles residents were moved to Gray, 70 km north, where 37 houses had been built on what was once sugar cane fields. (2022) © Sandra Mehl

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► Visa pour l'Image runs in Perpignan from 2 to 17 September 2023. It will also be on display at La Villette in Paris from 16 to 30 September.