In the midst of all the other venues of Mardi Gras , it is very easy to, often lose sight of the traditions that make up our heritage. Caucasians, African Americans, as well as other cultures, here in New Orleans, as well as across the nation, have, some to our detriment, cast asidemany of the arts we once cherished. Those arts and customs now merely thought as old-fashioned and out-of-date. This we should not do with the ease, which we so readily exhibit. For in most of the traditions, are also some of our history. Some have said that’s it’s also our heritage. Some of this nation’s heritage is best forgotten. But the history we dare not cast aside, lest we are totally doomed to repeat it. And that option, for African Americans, is thoroughly frightening.

The Black Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans are a unique sub-culture of a highly diverse and complex group of the local population . The tradition of these masking Indians, dates back to the 1700’s. The scholars that claim to know the origins of the Mardi Gras Indians (a two hundred year old tradition) sometimes conflict on the precise history. As a result of this lack of a solid path in the knowledge of Indian history, many theories abound, but this much is for certain, the Indians have preserved some of their culture and history in the guise of tradition, and that tradition at the time of Mardi Gras, is now an integral part of New Orleans. In the heart of New Orleans since the 1780’s and perhaps earlier, this ancient colorful and artistic culture has been practiced. A culture, that be it known, exhibits all of that tradition, with some of the positive heritage, and is quite a unique history.


In the Beginning:-

The history of the Mardi Gras Indians, is a long and hard road, starting in late 1600’s with the Indian Village of Tchoutchuoma, which stood quietly and peacefully, in or very near the north gate of the colonial place of what has become the original Colony/Fort/Port of New Orleans, commonly known as the French Quarter. The Indians fished in the bayou and made life as liveable as possible.

Other tribes did from time to time attack, and would, besides taking food, occasionally, take captives as slaves, or wives.

In 1699, Pierre Le Moyne’, declares his camp “Pointe du Mardi Gras”, (Mardi Gras Point), as Louisiana’s first European settler’s entered the Mississippi Delta Gulf Coast Region, and in 1711, a mere two years later, Native Indians were first taken as slaves. 

Taken to exploit the cheap source of labor, to clear the area to be used as a port, and to learn knowledge of how to survive in the new land, the Indians endured. Some were Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Blackfoot. Even then, there was thought of Mardi Gras, as the white men of the colony of mobile, formed a Boeuf Graf Society. 

Then in 1718, Jean-Baptise Le Moyne’, Pierre’s brother, founded the port colony and river fort of Nouvelle Orle’ans, (New Orleans). Indians slaves are among the thieves, cut throats, prostitutes, and beggars that were the first settlers.

But the Indians were not highly prized as slaves because, their love of freedom was so fierce, that they would run into the bayou and disappear into other camps which the French and later the Spanish wouldn’t dare venture into.

Slaves from Africa & the West Indies Arrive

Napoleon also used the port for a respite for the slaves and crew after the trip from Africa to give the crew a chance to clean and re-outfit the ships for the trip to Haiti. Slaves were given their first chance, in 2 to 6 months, to stretch out on dry land. Some would be sold here. Most were held in the slave pens all along, on what is now Camp street.

For two years things were kept in order, as the African, West Indies, and Haitian slaves were trained in running plantations and working there. Slowly, the slaves and the Indians began to understand each other’s language, and this improved their co-operative efforts to work in harmony together. It also gave them the way to plan things, such as escapes. So, it was inevitable, that in 1722, the first known escape of a slave from a plantation, took place. In the archives, there is no mention of if he was ever found. One must assume that he was never heard from again.

An Alliance is Sought and formed

Three years later in 1725, archives now record for the first time, some known successful cases of blacks escaping into the bayou, aided by the native Indians of the area. It is said that tribes such as the Choctaw, Seminoles and Chickasaws in Louisiana were responsible for freeing some of the African and men of color from slavery. 

With the Indians help, the slaves learn to survive off the land and lived in the forest camps, just outside the city. These camps come to be known as Maroon Camps. Blacks relationship with Indians would spawn a section of the populous that was frightened and they would indeed write and state that the last thing that the colony needed was Indians and slaves becoming allies. They were intentionally kept from one another. They had good cause to be frightened, because in 1729 most of the 280 African Slaves owned by a company of the West Indies, join with the Natchez Indians in what became known as the ” Natchez Revolt.”

It was an attempt by the Indians to prevent their sacred lands from being seized, as the French tried to develop their Fledgling tobacco industry. The Indians has promised the slaves freedom, in exchange for their help, and along with 176 Indian braves, the force attacked their captors. But they were betrayed by one of the sailors of the West Indies company that had accidentally overheard the plans. The revolt was put down with amazing savageness. Some of the slaves were beheaded and their heads mounted on pikes and placed on the levee, to frighten and warn others as to what would happen, if it ever happened again. This show of force was so successful, that no other attempts were recorded for two years. The french colonist, convinced that all was now under control, relaxed the rules andthe First recorded reference to slaves dancing at gatherings held on the plantations were found in the archives, in the year, 1732.

African Slaves were highly valued at this time in New Orleans history, as were the free men of color for their considerable trade skills. The colony, still under French rule, had a sort of live and let live approach to slavery, so much so, that slaves were ” given the weekend off ” to earn money and go into town. Negroes had the trust of the french, so much, that some slaves and the free men of color, were formed into a fighting force of mulatto troops, to defend the fort in case of attack by Indians. Two years later, in 1736, Governor Beinville and his Negro troops attacked the English and their Indian allies in the Chickasaw War. Simon, a Free Negro who accompanied Bienville, led a company of 45 to 50 free Negroes, in that battle.

Indeed trust had been established by the Negroes, in order to gain some of the advantages freedom could bring. So much so, that in 1744, the “Place de Negroes”, (later known as Congo Square) becomes the established place to meet, transact business, get news, etc, openly, on Sundays, for free men of color, and later for the area slaves, as they began to sell, and produce other goods to accumulate money to buy their freedom. These slaves would gather by the hundreds on Sunday afternoons to sing and dance in their traditional style at Congo Plains (now the site of Louis Armstrong Park).

But the slaves, had not abandoned their thirst for freedom. They had formed a plan and meeting in the square enabled them to perfect their plans. But this would prove to be time consuming and slow. They relied on the Indians to help negotiate the swamps and continued to cultivate their relationship with them, even establishing a sort of underground railroad to the maroon camps where possible.