Chief Shirell Parfait-Dardar featured in National Geographic IMPACT Series

Longtime Lowlander Center collaborator Chief Shirell Parfait-Dardar of the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw has been featured in the new National Geographic documentary series IMPACT with Gal Gadot!

The IMPACT series consists of six documentary shorts that follow the powerful stories of six women who are making an extraordinary impact on their communities around the world.

We are so proud of Chief Shirell and all of the amazing work she has done and continues to do; no one deserves this feature more than her! She is currently working with us to restore Louisiana marshes and protect sacred sites.

You can watch Chief Shirell’s episode here.

Episode Description: Meet Chief Shirell, the first female chief of her southern Louisiana tribe. Her ancestors have lived on the land for hundreds of years, and they are now expected to be among the United States’ first climate refugees. Chief Shirell can’t stop the storms, but she is impacting the legacy of her ancestors, the lives of her community today and the future of her people.

Lowlander Center Presents to National Academy of Sciences

On Friday, May 21, Lowlander Board Member Mây Nguyễn and longtime Lowlander collaborator Chief Shirell Parfait-Dardar presented on a National Academy of Science panel. The panel, titled "Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates and Effects, Perspectives from Coastal Indigenous Communities” highlighted the emerging challenges coastal Indigenous communities face due to extractive industry.

You can view Mây’s presentation slides here; Chief Shirell’s will be uploaded in the near future.