The Invisible Victims of Katrina

The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has brought the issues of race and class into high relief. As is typical of the cultural ideology of racism, the issue is drawn in Black and White. Underneath this cultural dichotomy lies the true issue of race - it is not simply Black and White. Among the invisible victims are the east Asian communities of the coast, the Latino residents of the area, and perhaps most invisible of all the tribal peoples of the Gulf coast.

This is the dirty truth about race in the United States. When the subject rears its head, it is simplistically played as an issue for African Americans. Then it is transformed by Whites into an issue of class - not of race. After all, local state, and federal authorities aren't racist ... the Mayor of New Orleans is African American. Or as Bush put it: "The storm didn't discriminate, and neither will the recovery effort (Houston Chronicle, 9/12/05)." While the first part is true, the second part has yet to be decided. What is clear is that inequality along the lines of race, class, age, and ability, certainly did play a role in the disparate impact of catastrophe.

An interesting aspect of mainstream ideology is that everything can be subsumed into class inequality. Since the ideology runs that class is self-selected, or at least a level playing field of a meritocracy, then "we" (white middle class and above) are not responsible for that either. The only inequality is economic inequality and that is solely in the hands of the individual. It is sad that "they" have had to "pay to price" for "their" failures.

This is of course total bull, but it makes the White middle class and above, the journalist, and the politician feel better. Adding to this is the idea that there is only racism if there is an active, intentional act. Could anyone blame officialdom for actively engaging in racism in this case? After all, didn't you see all of those courageous (white) Coast Guard rescue swimmers pulling all of those (black) victims out of the flood waters? Ignored, and not discussed, is the institutionalized racism that disproportionately places people of color in the lowest echelons of the economic system. Nor the pervasive cultural racism that leads to the automatic labeling of the poor people (of color)who broke into stores to get supplies they needed to survive as "looters," and the poor (white) people doing the same thing as survivors and "finders." Nor was it apparently "racism" when both the (white) governor of Louisiana, and the (white) President of the United States agreed on one thing in this fiasco - "zero tolerance for looters." Shoot on sight was apparently the order. The issues of survival and the issues of criminality totally blurred with the "looters" clearly identified as non-whites. Of course there is no racism at play here.

The other aspect of racism - in the case of Hurricane Katrina and in the society as a whole - is invisibility. To reduce race issues to black and white one must make all other groups invisible. The invisibility itself is racism. People who were "invisible" before the hurricane have largely remained invisible in the rescue and recovery efforts. DemocracyNow is the only coverage I have seen about the Latinos, and the Honduran's in particular. There was one brief mention of Vietnamese shrimpers in one report on CNN. There has been virtually no coverage, outside of Native American sources, which have discussed (or offered aid) for the Native Americans and tribes impacted by Katrina. The singular exception that I know of is an article on MediaChannel - Katrina's Forgotten Victims: Native American Tribes. Another population that is invisible, disproportionately non-white and poor are those who were incarcerated at the time the Hurricane struck.

How convenient to not have to deal with all the complications of including people other than African Americans under the umbrella of "racism." This is particularly true as the news turns to glowing reports of "positive" developments, and "successful" relocations of victims. We are moving into the "feel good" stage of the catastrophe. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of people are still suffering, and virtually no relief has arrived in many impacted areas. Michael Moore and Veterans for Peace are addressing this "hole" in the response. You can read their reports at Michael Moore's site. (But then Michael Moore has become "invisible" and Veterans for Peace are frequently excluded from the news.)

Numerous tribes have been hit and left behind except by other tribes and Native organizations. Over 3400 members of the Houmas tribe have been impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Mississippi Choctaw Reservation, and other tribes have also been hard hit.

The invisible are left to help the invisible.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe in central Louisiana has 500 hurricane victims at the Paragon Casino Resort.

The National Congress of American Indians is mobilized to help the sic federally recognized tribes of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

The Klamath tribe of Oregon has sent their primary physician and their pharmacist to New Orleans. The Seminole tribe sent emergency crews to the Choctaw Reservation. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is sending food, water and clothing to the Chitimacha Tribe in Louisiana, and the Chitimacha have taken in 400 tribe members from New Orleans.

The National Indian Gaming Association is trying to raise $1 million for Native victims, and the NCIA (1301 Connecticut Ave, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036) is also fund raising.

Did, and does, racism play a role in who is suffering most in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? You better believe it does. Making people invisible does not mean that racism does not exist. Painting race as a "black" issue, then playing into the stereotypes of "making their own beds" (via class mythology) and Black criminality (via racial stereotype), does not make race go away. The dominant population does not want to look squarely at this issue. That is more than "unfortunate" for those who will suffer long after the "victory" of the "recovery" is history.

Tribal Links
Information and aid - AIROS
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe
Poarch Band of Creek Indians
Jena Band of Choctaw Indians
Chitimacha Tribe
Coushatta Tribe