It’s Carnival Time:
Mardi Gras Indian Tradition Has Connection to Zachary

By Christiana Johns

M ost people spend Mardi Gras enjoying parades with friends and family, another holiday to get together. But for Heidi Vessel, Carnival is much more than a family r eunion; it is a time to honor tradition and continue to seal a place in Louisiana folklore.

Heidi Vessel of Vessel Law Firm in Zachary, is related to Chief Allison “Tootie” Montana, one of the most famous Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans. Tootie, Gina and Darryl Montana are Vessel’s cousins, and have played a pivotal role in continuing and preserving the traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians.

Vessel said her memories of Mardi Gras are not like that of the tourists on Canal Street. Her family had a restaurant and catering business, so Mardi Gras was always a big business day for them. She said she watched the parades like other local families on the corners of either Claiborne and Orleans or St. Charles and Napoleon. Her grandfather was part of the Zulu Social & Pleasure club, and she remembers shaving and painting coconuts.

“Holidays in New Orleans were always exciting, but the culture of the Indians was unique unto itself,” she said. “After the parade ended nobody left because they were all waiting for the Indians to come. Around the corner you could see bright feathers of chili pepper red and canary yellow coming your way. It’s some of my fondest memories as a child.”

Harmony of two cultures
Tootie’s great uncle is Becate Batiste, who is often referred to a founder of one of the first recorded tribes in New Orleans, Creole Wild West. Her family has been masking since the 1880s. Vessel said the masking tradition – the art of costuming and parading during Mardi Gras – is grounded in African tradition with Indian garb. “It’s the harmony of two cultures,” she said.

The tradition has evolved over the years. In the beginning, the costumes were crude and simple. Today, the costumes are elaborate works of art, weighing between 100 to 200 pounds and as high as 10 feet with plumes, feathers, sequins and beads all hand-sewn. The Indians march for 20-30 miles on Mardi Gras Day with these heavy costumes.

Back in the 1880s, the tribes would physically fight each other to prove who the better tribe was. Now, largely due to Tootie changing the tradition, the tribes compete by singing and dancing to prove who is the “prettiest.”

Every bead, every feather
Tootie is the most well-known and honored Mardi Gras Indian. He began masking in 1947 with his father, Albert Montana, and continued to do so for more than 50 years. Vessel said he retired in 1997 but then returned in 2004 because of pressure from his fans, and because he could not stand anyone else being Chief other than himself.

Vessel said she remembers the media, including The New York Times, and crowds of people waiting outside of their home to be some of the first to catch a glimpse of Tootie’s suit. “It was top secret because the tribes always wanted to outdo each other,” she said. “I don’t think anyone would be as great as Tootie.”

After he came outside and showed off his ornate costume, the festivities began. “That’s how Mardi Gras kicked off for us.”

Although she has always admired the Indians from afar, Vessel said she never had the time to mask. “Every bead, every feather, every sequin has to be hand-sewn. I’ve never had an entire year to devote to making a suit.”

Vessel also said it is a faux-pas to wear the same suit twice, another testament to the patience and skill it takes to make a suit every year. “They start making a suit for next year the day after Mardi Gras,” she said.

Cultural icon
Tootie died in 2005 of a heart attack while at a city council meeting special session to address concerns with police about the Indians parading. Surrounded by his fellow Indian Chiefs, Vessel said they began to sing “Indian Red.”

“Just to hear it stirs your soul,” she said. “It was very poetic.”

While Tootie may be gone, his legacy is still very much alive. Tootie has passed the torch of being Chief of the Yellow Pocahontas tribe to his son, Darryl.

Tootie has been honored as a cultural icon throughout the world. He received the National Heritage Fellowship Award and a Louisiana Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant.

He has been featured by The New York Times and The Times-Picayune, a documentary has been made about him called “Tootie’s Last Suit” which has been featured on PBS and at the Tribeca Film Festival, the New Orleans Museum of Art had an exhibit displaying his old suits, he was featured at the New Orleans locations of Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Hard Rock Café, and a restaurant in New York City has one of his suits on display.

Vessel said that some of his costumes have been purchased for $20,000 to $30,000, but they are not made to sell. “The costumes sit in your living room for so long that they become a part of the family,” she said.
Folk art
Vessel said she is very proud to be a part of her family, who includes artists, craftsmen, and skilled chefs. She said she is also very proud that her family has such an integral part of Louisiana folk art.

“The tradition of masking as Mardi Gras Indians has forged a place in American culture as distinct and unique from any other place,” she said. “It is my hope that the younger generation in my family preserves this rich tradition.”

Black and white photo courtesy of Christopher Porche West.