What it is to lose one of the most important parts of your life? When I saw the building in Dulac that was flooded by the Harricane Gustav, I couldn’t have any word to descrive my shock. The building has been used as a community center where children could play after school and where the neighbors gathered. For Houma Indians, in Dulac, families, communities and cultures that have grown in the area dominate their lives very much, because the Houma have lived there from generation to generation. They have built a strong community sense throughout their history. Their cultural identity and heritage live in the community and are tied deeply with who they are.
I thought about what the experience and feelings are like when a person almost lose a part of his or her identity. Talking about my experience, I have loved dancing and committed much time for it. Dancing dominates a big part of who I am now. Seeing the flooded community center made me think if I lost dancing from my life. I may not be able to have a way to enjoy my life. I may lose myself and become mentally ill. It is very hard, or impossible, to fully understand and describe the feelings of the Houma. They have experience what I have never encountered in my life. But today’s opportunity to see the building help me see the Houma people’s sadness.