Larry Bannock was 36 when I produced this story for MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour in 1984.  Chief of The Golden Starhunters, he is part of a rich New Orleans tradition — the Mardi Gras Indians. Steeped in history, these “Indian tribes” create fabulous costumes from beads, feathers, rhinestones and sequins using Indian motifs and organize their tribes into competing groups of musicians  for a black Mardi Gras that few whites ever saw.  Some of the tribes – the Wild Tchoupitoulas, the Yellow Pocahontas and the Wild Magnolias – have become famous nationally.

“Massin’ Indian is like a feeling that you have that you can’t explain.  It’s a desire.  An outsider wouldn’t understand it.  You want to do something that remembers the Indians,” says Bannock.

“Massin’ Indian” means masquerading as Indians and the tradition dates back to slavery when local Indian tribes were the only friends of enslaved blacks.  Scholars argue over all the influences on the tradition while chiefs like Bannock continue to sew their stunning costumes each year.

“The only requirement of an Indian is that you gotta want to sew,” Bannock explains who was laid off as a welder and earns a living at odd carpenter jobs.

“And you gotta feel it.  You don’t create a lot of ideas that don’t relate to the Indians.  You’ve got to have a desire to sew, a passion because you spend 3 or 4 hours a night for a year to sew your costume.”  Bannock will spend from $2,000 to $3,000 each year (1984 figures) on the materials, beads, tools and threads for his costume.

Another part of the tradition is the weekly music practice sessions at a local bar.  Bannock’s group, The Golden Starhunters, bring congas, snares and tamborines to work out their rhythms and songs.  “We form a percussion circle and sing songs about heros in our community, people who have passed, we’re remembering them,” says Bannock.

“This (tradition) is what keeps Mardi Gras going.  People in the neighborhoods, the grass roots, working together, sewing and doing what they feel.”