“Black Indians”, at the origins of the black carnival of New Orleans

Published on : 01/11/2022 – 00:32

Feathers, beads, etc. : nothing is too good for the “Black Indians” carnival © Sebastien Jedor / RFI

While part of the planet celebrated Halloween last night, let’s take a look at another style of disguise, that of the Black Indians, these parades of the African-American community in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the southern United States. The costumes of this carnival like no other are currently on display at the Quai Branly-Jacques-Chirac museum in Paris. Long despised, this tradition experienced a comeback after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, affecting mostly black and poor neighborhoods.