Second Chief "Lil Bo," center, performs with the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indian gang in front of the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo in Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Sunday Feb. 26, 2006. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Black Indians of Mardi Gras Story aired: Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Today in New Orleans, parades float, tourists and discarded plastic beads line the major avenues. But what most tourists won't see are some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina.
Those streets are the parade grounds of the Mardi Gras or black "Indians" of New Orleans. About 40 "tribes" of African-Americans dress up, or "mask" as Indians in elaborate, sequined costumes and take to the streets to unveil their new "suit" and sing about their great feats on carnival day.
Locals say Indians harbored escaped slaves in the swamps and that the slaves assimilated. In the late 19th century, blacks excluded from white carnival celebrations staged their own parades, dressing up in homage to the Native Americans they admired.
Rituals and songs about warriors have been handed down through the generations, and while only half of the tribes are taking part in carnival this year, a few have made recordings of this unique New Orleans sound. Here & Now's Virginia Prescott digs through the stacks.
