Mardi Gras Indians

Tracing their roots back to a time when American Indians helped shield runaway slaves, the Mardi Gras Indians are among the most colorful and mysterious of New Orleans' cultural phenomena. Their fantastic costumes are unforgettable hand-sewn creations of intricate beadwork and dramatic images which rank among the nation's best folk art. Worn just once, the costumes take an entire year to create, with hundreds of thousands of beads and feathers sewn on by hand.

There are more than 50 Indian “gangs” in the city and each march to the beat of their own drummer, literally. With a formal hierarchy of chiefs, spy boys and other unique monikers, the Indians parade on special days including Mardi Gras, St. Joseph's Night or one of two “Super Sundays” in March. Gracing the streets of New Orleans neighborhoods in friendly competition over which chief is the “prettiest,” you may catch sight of the Indians at traditional gathering places like Shakespeare Park, at the corner of Washington Avenue and LaSalle Street uptown; at the intersection of Orleans and North Claiborne Avenues, near Armstrong Park; at Hunter's Field at the corner of North Claiborne and St. Bernard Avenues; or at the Backstreet Cultural Museum, where the history and costumes are displayed at 1116 St. Claude St. in the heart of the historic Tremé neighborhood.