Ms. Foundation for Women - Voices From the Field: Brenda Dardar Robichaux, United Houma Relief Fund, 2008 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee

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Voices From the Field: Brenda Dardar Robichaux, United Houma Relief Fund, 2008 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee

Brenda Dardar Robichaux is the Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation and founder of the United Houma Nation Relief Fund. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated her tribe in Southeastern Louisiana, displacing more than 6,000 of 17,000 tribe members, Robichaux quickly mobilized to meet the immediate needs of the Houma Nation and established training in non-traditional jobs for women and leadership programming for girls.

2008 Woman of Vision Award

Brenda Dardar Robichaux, the Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation and founder of the United Houma Nation Relief Fund

When Brenda Dardar-Robichaux was elected Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation in 2002, her main goal was to unite her tribe—the largest in Louisiana with more than 17,000 people scattered over six bayou parishes—to create more cohesion among the Houma people. She’s been remarkably successful, but it’s been a constant struggle—not the least because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Robichaux has always believed in the power of education to make change. Robichaux’s parents weren’t allowed to attend school with white students and their own schools only went up to 6th or 7th grade. Years later, Robichaux was among the first non-white students to integrate Louisiana’s public schools. She faced tremendous hostility and vowed as she grew older to make sure other children wouldn’t have to question their worth as she had.

Robichaux didn’t waste any time. Shortly after graduating from high school, she started working for the Lafourche Parish School Board, where she developed—and still runs—an education program for Houma children. It’s had a huge impact on the community—both in preserving Houma culture and in raising academic performance.

“For me our culture is the essence of who we are. I think the key to our future is making sure that our children have the self-confidence, the tools, the support system they need, to earn their degrees. And when they come back and work in the community…it makes me so proud.”

But nothing could have prepared the Houma for the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

“In Plaquemines Parish, there was not a home left standing…floodwaters everywhere, boats on the levees. Our people had nothing to come home to. It was almost unbearable.”

In total, more than 6,000 Houma lost their homes.

That’s when Robichaux founded the United Houma Nation Relief Fund. Immediately after Katrina, she mobilized the resources of her tribe to begin searching for missing members and to meet people’s basic needs. Donations—food, water, household goods and new clothes—poured in. Volunteers from across the country did, too. Her home was a relief center for over a year, and she learned to cook for dozens of people—jambalaya and red beans and rice.

While volunteers did what they could to repair homes, there was still a tremendous need for housing—and jobs. The federal government had refused to recognize the Houma, so they weren’t eligible for FEMA assistance. And with the fishing industry decimated, there was little in terms of work.

But thanks to Robichaux’s vision and support from organizations like the Ms. Foundation, UHNRF established programs like job training for women in “non-traditional” trades. With skills in construction, women would have better access to living-wage jobs and be able to help rebuild homes. Such programs also helped ensure that women wouldn’t be further marginalized by relief efforts as they had been by the storms.

Still, Robichaux points out, the Houma Nation’s problems go well beyond hurricane damage.

One town has been sickened by an oil industry dumping ground, which still hasn’t been cleaned up despite years of appeals and a 60 Minutes segment. In another community, landowners who couldn’t read or write were tricked into signing over their property to oil and gas companies.

Robichaux has plans for buying more land and building alternative communities for those who have lost theirs. But those plans will take money and time, and there’s never enough of either.

She credits the Ms. Foundation, not only for its support for hurricane recovery, but also for helping her develop into a more effective leader. Robichaux’s experience on a Ms. Foundation advisory committee inspired her. After participating in strategy discussions with fellow grantees, donors and colleagues about how grantmaking can help build social justice movements, she remembers, “I’d tell anyone who’d listen: ‘Just look at what these women are doing. We need to do more for our women and for our people.’” Robichaux, who already believes women’s full participation is key to a just and sustainable recovery in the Gulf Coast, started an additional program to encourage young Houma women to pursue an education.

Robichaux sees herself as following in the footsteps of powerful Houma women before her. “Our women have been leaders. They’ve had to be strong, and I’ve had to be strong.”

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