Mardi Gras Research Paper

When someone hears, “New Orleans,” they immediately think of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is a tradition that can survive, and thrive, no matter what the circumstances. Take, for example, after Hurricane Katrina hit the city, there was much argument as to whether or not to even have the celebration, but many of the citizens were in favor of it, with one of them saying, “it’s what New Orleans spirit is all about,” (Mitchell, 791). Among those who were in favor of keeping with traditions after the decimation of their city were The Mardi Gras Indians. A group of people who wish to pay homage to their ancestors, they dress up in ceremonial garb and parade around the city. The Mardi Gras Indians are an important part of not only the Mardi Gras celebrations, though, they also play a part in New Orleanian culture as a whole, as exemplified by the study of social, economic, and cultural patterns that are closely associated with them.

According to a statistic, provided by Kevin Fox Gotham, in his Marxist reading of the celebration, the City of New Orleans, in the year 2000, made a revenue of 21.6 million dollars from the parades alone, with the overall spending encouraged by the holiday being at 1,056.0 million dollars (Gotham, 1746). Of that 1,056.0 million dollars, around half of it, 54.9 million dollars, comes from the spending of New Orleanian residents (Gotham, 1746). It could be argued, that a notable amount of that comes from the support and existence of the Mardi Gras Indians. Each member of the tribe must purchase that materials for, and personally sew, their own costume, costing thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours (VanSpanckeren, 42). Add along with that spending tab, the one of the people supporting them, and traveling to see them, and you have a sizeable line on the budget sheet at the end of the