Since Mardi Gras was just upon us I thought it was time for a post on the Mardi Gras Indians. I must admit that I am not an expert on this tradition, but since starting this blog a number of folks have asked me what my opinion on Mardi Gras Indians - black folks in New Orleans who call themselves Indians and belong to “tribes” and sing “chants” including one called Indian Red which goes as follows:

I’ve got a Big Chief, Big Chief, Big Chief of the Nation
Wild, wild creation
He won’t bow down, down on the ground
Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red
When I throw my net in the river
I will take only what I need
Just enough for me and my lover

HELLA CONFUSING! If this was a white person I’d be ranting all over this tumblr.

I do think that there is a difference between cultural appropriation by white folks (hence the topic of this blog) and by other marginalized peoples, because the major impact of cultural appropriation is, of course, structural. Just as racism requires privilege AND power, so, in my opinion, does cultural appropriation. Of course, Blue Corn Comics points out that this still does buy into a lot of stereotypes of Native Americans and there are better ways to celebrate and honor Native customs.

Yet the more I learned about Mardi Gras Indians, the more fascinated I became. The New York Times published an article on the Mardi Gras Indians in 2010, mostly covering how certain individuals were suing professional photographers for taking pictures of their elaborate (and expensive) costumes and profiting from them without compensating the costume wearers. The HBO show “Treme” also depicts the Mardi Gras Indians - I will post a clip from Treme shortly, and this blog post  from the “Watching Treme” blog has links to two essays exploring the group’s background. 

From “New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians and Tootie Montana” by Kalamu Ya Salaam

Clearly, the historical background suggests that the idea of “masking Indian” is over two hundred years old. Rather than an anomaly, the Mardi Gras Indians are in fact simply a manifestation of a much broader and older cultural trend than is often supposed. Rather than unique to New Orleans, Mardi Gras Indians are better understood as representative of the historic merging of African and Native peoples—a merger which happened throughout the so-called “new world” both because of as well as in spite of African enslavement and Native genocide.

Native Appropriations, my guru blog, obviously has a rockin’ piece on this topic called: “Mardi Gras Indians: can cultural appropriation occur on the margins?” that is worth checking out here. 

Here are some photos and I’ll post a video from “Treme” also - comments are welcome!