Tribes in southwestern Louisiana are losing their way of life and their land in the Gulf of Mexico gradually disappears.

The Houma, the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw and Pointe-au-Chien tribes have long relied on fishing, farming and trapping. But their lands have been devastated by a series of hurricanes, including Katrina in 2005, along with development from the growing oil and gas industry.

"We got chased out by the whites; now we're getting chased back," Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Chief Albert Naquin, 62, told The Washington Post. "At one time, it was man-made removal; now it's Mother Nature's removal."

The tribes have struggled to their lack of federal recognition.

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Gulf Waters Imperil Tribes' Way of Life In Louisiana Bayous (The Washington Post 7/20)