ABSTRACT
The State of Louisiana has historically asserted that coastal land loss is due to sediment deprivation, and the government and media publicize the extreme land loss in coastal Louisiana as predominantly caused by the developed waterways; thus, restoration needed to be based on sediment management. With permission from the storytellers, the stories have been shown at public events, film festivals, and professional conferences and agency forums to bring attention to the issues that the Tribes and other coastal Louisiana communities are experiencing. Digital stories are short narratives created in video format that bring together participants' words, voices, and images. For each story circle, people spent several hours gathered together around a table in a participant's house, sharing food and conversation. The conversations built and expanded upon work already underway by local mentor and a team of local researchers and community organizers to bring communities together over common resource concerns.
