Bette Billiot

Bette Billiot, a native of Dulac, Louisiana, now resides in Houma on her ancestral lands in lower Terrebonne Parish. As a citizen and former Tribal Councilwoman of the United Houma Nation, she has dedicated her career to advocacy and community organizing within BIPOC communities across the Gulf South. She co-founded the Bayou Youth Leadership Program to uplift and educate Indigenous youth on environmental impacts, cultural practices, and traditions. During the 2020 pandemic, Bette helped organize the Sacred Waters Pilgrimage—a seven-month healing journey of virtual and in-person gatherings across seven states for Black and Indigenous women along the Mississippi River. In 2015, she co-facilitated the Gulf South Rising Initiative, focusing on significant commemorations and historical turning points in the region. After participating in the inaugural Lead the Coast cohort in 2016, she contributed to its redevelopment in 2018 and co-facilitated the Terrebonne/Lafourche cohort in 2019. From 2013 to 2020, Bette served as Administrative Assistant to Principal Chief Thomas Dardar of the United Houma Nation and has held roles as Senior Project Manager for the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy and Field Organizer for the Sierra Club’s opposition to the Venture Global LNG buildout in Plaquemines Parish.