WILD TREME
BLACK INDIANS

Canvas & Colors: A History of The Big Chief

Le Falle Sampson, Kristen

African  American History – African American Studies, Bellarmine College of Fine Arts, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2021

Abstract
This paper will examine the life’s work of one of the most colorful, prettiest, and resilient Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans. From childhood to manhood, in his own words, this is the story of Andrew Jude Martin De Pores Justin, one man’s journey as seen through the eye of a needle.

Canvas and Colors: A History of The Big Chief

Ask a random person what they know about New Orleans and many will answer with “Hurricanes” or “Mardi Gras”! The festivity, the food, the music, the traditions are what makes the annual celebration a favorite of residents and tourists alike.  Long after the beads and beignets have been enjoyed, visitors to New Orleans say the Crescent City stays with them.  Whether standing in Congo Square where enslaved Africans were openly sold or dining at Antoine’s which opened in the 1840’s, this city is rich in culture and traditions rooted to the African diaspora. The historical significance of New Orleans, Louisiana makes it a center point of the African American experience.  On days leading up to Fat Tuesday, the Tuesday before lent, French Creoles, African Americans and yes, the White people of New Orleans from Wards all over the city gather for the annual Krewe of Zulu procession which extends from Claiborne through streets of Downtown New Orleans. This pageant is more than a festival.  This essay will explore how, for Black Mardi Gras Indians, the annual cavalcade is a rite of passage. Tribes of Mardi Gras Indians vying for the title of “The Prettiest” sing, dance and make their way down the route, as spectators cheer them on.  There is so much more than bright colors and decorated canvases at play here.  Using primary sources and timelines, this paper will trace the colorful journey of one New Orleans native from the 6th Ward, from Mardi Gras to manhood.  This is the oral history Andrew Jude Martin de Porres Justin, a testament of what it means to be The Big Chief.