My Louisiana Love

For our final film reflection, our class watched the 2012 documentary My Louisiana Love, which follows the life of Monique Verdin, a Native American woman showcases her love and hope for a better, Houma, Louisiana, in the face of environmental degradation. The documentary is narrated and directed by Verdin, and comprised of home video footage.

The film begins with Monique Verdin taking her viewers back in time, discussing the history of Verdin's French-Indian family, as well as the history of oil and gas industry and its impact on the Houma landscapes which her family has historically inhabited. Throughout the documentary, Verdin seamlessly blends facts in with her personal family footage. Verdin states that 1/3 of the oil in the nation is sourced from Louisiana, yet South Louisiana is losing about an acre of land every hour. These two facts alone show our nation's dependence on Louisiana, yet a seemingly unwavering resistance to aid in its preservation that still lingers today.

The documentary then shifts, as Katrina devastates Louisiana. The area that viewers and Verdin were both familiar with from the earlier half of the documentary, is unrecognizable. Although hard to conceive, Verdin states that the documenting the wreckage was her way of processing the events, yet, simultaneously, she was exposing the stripping of humanity, pollution, and environmental injustices in the process. From here, documentary then takes and more tragic turn, as Verdin documents the profound grief that follows the passing of her partner Mark.

The film concludes with Verdin carrying on as an environmental activist. It is apparent from the film that her motivations run far deeper than the desire to make a change  - they are rooted in the lives plagued with injustice of her family in friends. The history of the Houma people. The blood, sweat, and tears from her own body, as well as her loved ones. This documentary is truly unique, as no one could ever gain such personal insight and perspective of the impact of environmental crises, natural disasters, and systemic injustices. In her interview, she discusses the ways in which she is involved in activism, such as, traveling to Washington DC in the aftermath of the BP Oil Spill and becoming a core member of Indigenous Environmental Network, yet her hinderance in accepting the title of an "activist." In lieu of activism, Verdin is intrinsically motivated to see positive change in the land she loves and the people who inhabit it.


 By the end of it, you feel honored to have viewed it as it is something strikingly private, yet public in hopes of change. There is something to be said for the deep seated love Monique Verdin feels for Louisiana: in sickness and in health as it pertains to both people and the environment.