Mardi Gras Indians Research Paper

The Mardi Gras Indians have been a tradition that has lived on in new orleans for many years, the secrecy of the indians is what has made the mardi gras indian such an event, the mardi gras indians do not plan parade times or even publish any documentation. The Mardi gras indians do not take order from no one, and it because they believe in such belief due to years of harassment and it empowered them as much as their ancestor did back in the days of enslavement, I became interested in the Mardi gras Indians because of how elegant and colorful their costume were, the amount of time and energy to create a costumes and how they do not get any sort of profit and solely create them because of tradition and because of many of the old resident trying

to keep it alive. Watching Treme this semester has made me understand the culture surrounding New Orleans, there such a rich history in such a small city that it makes you want to engulfed yourself into the city or be apart of a community.
One thing treme did great was to introduce every aspect of what new orleans is, the mardi gras indians play a big role in treme, as albert is the big chief who is trying to get his “krewe” back together. This to me show how much Mardi Gras Indians cared about their tradition and how close of a community many of the resident of New Orleans were to keep this tradition alive. Mardi gras indians form a “krewe” which consist of rankings, the rankings are a parody of royalty, as they have king, queen, dukes, captains and knights. I found it interesting that they had a ranking, it made me think that perhaps they were trying to feel that they were also important and that social classes never matter. I research Chief Becate Bastiste and it believed he started the tradition, he founded the Creole Wild West which is one of the oldest tribes. Becate Bastiste was of african and indian descent, which would influence lead to the creation of the Mardi gras Indians, the mixture of culture is what makes the Mardi Gras Indian so special, it was a culmination of native american culture but also african and even caribbean. I really find it interesting that the way a tradition start is by a mixture of others cultures, we live in a world that is a part of many great traditions, but we never ask our self where do these traditions come from and why.
The Mardi Gras Indians are an offspring from many places and culture from the world, from all the degradation of a race, a tradition was born, one that honored those that helped and support many of the african during the enslavement times, and it became a tradition that believes in honor and dedication.

The Mardi Gras Indians are a homage to the american indians that helped many of slaves in 1740’s and 1750’s, many of the slaves were located at The Place of negres which was later renamed Congo Square. With the Congo Square growing upward to 2,000 in population, many of the slaves were escaping through the swamps and bayous of the delta, these swamps were connected into cypress swamps, here many of the native and slave would hunt for there foods. The native americans were in the same situation as the slaves, settlers began to take the lands and bring upon changes that would later wipe out much of the native american culture. I believe that many of the Mardi Gras characteristics comes from Native Americans, they have always been a group of people that believe in selflessness and companionship. It does not surprise me that the Mardi Gras Indians have embody some of these qualities and have dedicated the tradition be a tribute to the culture of native

americans.
The way the Mardi Gras suits are made and how much time it takes to construct one was something that fascinated me, while we watch the documentary on “Tootie”, we saw firsthand how long it takes to create this beautiful suits, how much beads and sewing goes into this, as an artist, I was in awe.

The way I view the Mardi Gras Indians is that they are craft artists and some of the best in the world, I saw several close up photograph of the suits, and the amount of detail and symmetry is unmatched. The outfits we see today have come a long way since the first outfits in the early twentieth century, the mardi gras suit were simple and not as complex, they consisted of a crown, long pants, sleeveless vest, and apron. The designs for the outfits were heavily influenced by the geometric designs of the Natives, and they incorporated beads, feathers from the natives. The Mardi Gras Indians did tend to reuse the same materials due how little financial support many of them had, It wa said that some used to collect materials from old gowns, turkey feather from a local grocer and even use bottle caps and shells as decorations. One of the thing I found interesting was that they did a blood sacrifice will working on the suit, this would make the suit come alive. Many of the Mardi gras Indians would not wear the suit more than twice, the reason for that is that they believe that the spirits needed to be

free.
The motive of the Mardi Gras Indians have change throughout the years, Through the early 60’s there was conflicts between tribes, where violence would occur, these exchanges would lead at times to sever injuries, that also included firearms. The Mardi Gras Indians also faced encounters with the police and would lead to arrest and harassment of many Mardi Gras Indians. This would later change throughout the years, with the help of Big Chief Allison “Tootie” Montana, the Mardi Gras Indians would become passive, they would get into non-violent battles, were tribes competed to have the most elegant and most original design. This would become the new standard for this tradition, it became a beautiful way to showcases the commitment of the craftsmanship of each tribe member. I was touched by the documentary we saw in class, we saw how much it takes to be be a Big Chief, Tootie really cared about his tradition and he became a pioneer that influenced the way the Mardi Gras Indians are today. It takes one person to change the whole aspect of anything, we have that power and influence, Tootie was a man that sought to make this tradition a positive example of Africans and New orleans.
In all the Mardi Gras Indians are one of the greatest examples of the culture that is New Orleans, the blends of all races and the traditions born out of a collective of people, the Mardi Gras Indians are a tradition that have stand the time, through slavery and civil right movements, this tradition still was able to be active, and through the year it shaped the way the Mardi Gras Indian celebrate. I am thankful to have taken this course, I learned so much about the culture of New Orleans and how much we can learn from it as individuals, I want to definitely travel to New Orleans and watch the Mardi Gras Indians in actions, the amount of energy and hospitality would be such a great experience. I live for traditions, it say a lot about us and who we are and where we came from, I believe that traditions need to live on, and we are tasked to keep alive, but also traditions change over time, so in a way tradition is an ever changing aspect in our lives.