A former resident of Isle de Jean Charles, a small island in Terrebonne Parish, is featured in a new PBS docuseries that highlights the impacts of climate change on frontline communities and how researchers are working to mitigate risks.
The show, “Weathered: Earth’s Extremes,” premiered Wednesday (Oct. 2) on the PBS app and YouTube. Maiya May, the show’s host, showcases solutions to some of the most pressing concerns for people living through the climate crisis across the globe throughout the six-episode season.
In the case of Isle de Jean Charles, the solution was complete relocation, among the more extreme — and controversial — options for people living in places that are especially vulnerable to climate change. After decades of dealing with disappearing land and frequent floods, members of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, who had lived on the island for 170 years, agreed to move inland, rather than continue to live in a place that was sinking into the Gulf of Mexico.
Trip Jennings, who produced and directed the series, told Verite News that the show asks how climate change affects fundamental human needs, like access to housing and water. Its second episode, “Adapt or Leave?” touches on troubles that plague Louisianians today: the threat of devastating hurricanes, the rising cost of insurance and whether it’s cheaper to move away or rebuild.

“Adapt or Leave?” follows the story of Chris Brunet, a member of the tribe, who decided to leave his home on the island in 2022. A $48 million federal grant was awarded to the state of Louisiana in 2016 to fund the tribe’s relocation. The island has shrunk from 35 square miles to one square mile in Brunet’s lifetime due to rising sea levels and increasing rates of subsidence due to oil and gas development.
The tribe worked for almost 20 years with the Lowlander Center, a nonprofit that supports coastal communities, to draft a relocation proposal. At first, Brunet didn’t think a relocation would actually happen, but when the state stepped in and the money and permits were granted, he realized he had a decision to make. He said it took him some time to accept that he would have to leave, but he eventually took the resettlement offer because Isle de Jean Charles faced too many environmental challenges.
“For some communities like us, you know, we come from a Native American community, that’s not such an easy thing to do, because we’re tied to the land, because it has to do with our culture and heritage,” Brunet said.
Brunet now lives in The New Isle, which is approximately 40 miles north of Isle de Jean Charles near Schriever in Terrebonne Parish. Former residents of the island still own property on Isle de Jean Charles after relocating.
Brunet told Verite News that his new home will always fall short because it isn’t where he is truly from. The fate of the residents of the Isle de Jean Charles is a reminder to others to focus on coastal restoration projects and fortification techniques, Brunet said.
In the show, Brunet said the relocation succeeded in its goal to preserve the community, with most moving to the same area.
May said that Brunet’s story was impactful in showing how communities can adapt to the effects of climate change. Beyond relocation, the episode also shows how researchers are developing fortification technologies to prevent devastating infrastructure loss during extreme weather events. May said that these new technologies should uplift those who feel hopeless when they think about the changing climate, while reminding them of steps they can take to mitigate risks.