Courtesy of the Historic New Orleans Collection
The "Making Mardi Gras" exhibition at the Historic New Orleans Collection
Of all the many grand traditions of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, perhaps none is so powerful as encountering a Mardi Gras (or Black Masking) Indian Big Chief in his full regalia, defending his neighborhood with quietly colorful prowess amid an enraptured throng. Countless long, tedious hours go into sewing each storytelling bead into these costumes; into gluing on the bright plumes that paint the streets with vibrant glory when Fat Tuesday comes.
[Read this: Walking Parades: Masking Indian on Mardi Gras Day]
But what becomes of these elaborate suits on Ash Wednesday, and after? Or when after many Mardi Gras spent second lining, they become cultural assets in a museum? How should they be cared for, to ensure their beauty is preserved for generations to come? These questions have inspired the Historic New Orleans Collection to launch a paid internship with the goal of answering them, with the intent of ultimately creating a guide to the care and preservation of Mardi Gras or Black Masking Indian suits that can be utilized for years to come.
"I think Mardi Gras Indian suits are the epitome of American folk art. It’s all self-taught craftsmanship passed down through the generations. It’s such a unique cultural expression of the Black community in New Orleans, that you can’t find anywhere else.” —Lydia Blackmore, HNOC's curator of decorative arts
The idea was hatched by HNOC’s first-ever Curator of Decorative Arts Lydia Blackmore and CEO Daniel Hammer along with President of the Mardi Gras Indian Council and Creole Wild West Tribe Chief Howard Miller, and brought to fruition with the help of the Decorative Arts Trust’s IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality, Accessibility, and Leadership) Grant.
The concept arose when Chief Miller sold the HNOC a Mardi Gras Indian suit that is currently on display as part of the Making Mardi Gras exhibit. When a museum acquires anything, a full catalogue entry must be created for the item detailing how it’s made, what it’s made of, its history, and its care. “And so we thought, what better way to to get this very accurate catalog description than to have an intern—preferably somebody from the Mardi Gras Indian community—to study the suit itself?” Blackmore said.
When Blackmore and I spoke in mid-January, the HNOC had just finished accepting applications, and was in the process of choosing from over twenty candidates to start the internship in mid-February 2022.
“I think preserving these suits is important for New Orleans culture, but also American culture. I think Mardi Gras Indian suits are the epitome of American folk art. It’s all self-taught craftsmanship passed down through the generations. It’s such a unique cultural expression of the Black community in New Orleans, that you can’t find anywhere else.” Blackmore also emphasizes the unique challenges maintaining Mardi Gras or Black Masking Indian suits poses—because of their size, delicacy, and the fact that their being worn to dance in the streets inevitably causes wear and tear before they make it into a museum. She added, “You can find similar things across the world, like in in the Caribbean or in South American cultures. But the New Orleans Black Masking culture is unique, and these suits are amazing works of art and really need to be preserved.”
You can see Chief Howard Miller’s grand red-plumed suit, on display until May 8, 2022 as part of the HNOC’s comprehensive exhibit Making Mardi Gras.
