ABOUT

Louisiana Culture & Curatives was created as a formalized organization in 2021 to celebrate culture and history, educate and counsel, and promote inclusion and community. This group dates back to an earlier rendition called Black Masking, which began in 2018 hosting an annual celebration of the Black Masking Injun (Indian) Tribes of New Orleans, affectionately known as the Mardi Gras Indians. This festival grew to include a multi-cultural showcase of Carnival, which is celebrated in 50 countries around the world. Performers included second line bands, baby dolls dancers, drummers, and International Carnival performers. It is our hope and desire to embrace all of the worldwide Carnival celebrations as we continue to tell our story and sing our message.

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ARCHEOLOGICAL HISTORY

As we pay homage to the black masking tribes native to Louisiana, it's important that we take a step back and understand the full dialogue of this culture. We now know that the native Indian Mounds found at Poverty Point date back over 3,400 years and are unlike any other archaeological site. The C-shaped ridges and multiple mounds are known as the largest earthworks in the Western Hemisphere. The Poverty Point site is thought to have been built over 600 years and throughout 25 generations! The natives in this area are connected to the Tchefuncte Site where more Indians Mounds have been found in modern-day St. Tammany Parish. Additionally, Indian Mounds have been found in New Orleans' own City Park, which are connected to the original location at Poverty Point, which is a dedicated UNESCO site today. 

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MODERN-DAY ABORIGINAL INJUNS

(MARDI GRAS INDIANS)

The various tribes native throughout the current-day State of Louisiana all came together at Congo Square and joined with the local slaves of African descent. We understand that the marrying of these cultures created the Carnival-style celebration that we have come to know as the Mardi Gras Indians. However, the ceremonial suiting, the music, and the dancing were in fact tied to Carnival and not specifically Mardi Gras as it developed in New Orleans. The native celebrations occurred during the same time of year, thus creating a modified naming of the "Mardi Gras Indians" or "Mardi Gras Injuns." Later, they were defined as the Black Masking Culture (masking referred to the headdresses and face paint associated with the suiting or costuming). Today, they are known as the Aboriginal Tribes of Louisiana, and we celebrate the beauty, exuberance, and life inherent in this culture.

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OUR PATH AND OUR FUTURE

At Louisiana Culture & Curatives, we embrace the untapped history that embodies the Injun Culture (Indian or Aboriginal Culture) and the other native cultures in Louisiana. By coming together and creating cultural events, productions, and a marketplace for goods, we can bring efficacy through revenue streams into our community and state. We shine a bright light on this culture to garner even more respect and consideration for its value. We also seek to support and empower the community through truth and clarification of misnomers about the culture. 

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CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS & BOOKINGS

Let us help enliven your next cultural celebration or corporate event with Injun (Indian) appearances, bands, dancers, and more! We support the New Orleans and state-wide Louisiana entertainment and hospitality industry through bookings of brass bands, Mardi Gras Indians, baby doll dancers and steppers! We can enhance your conferences with musical performances, second-line parades, and live entertainment. Contact us for more details!

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We can provide opportunity and community support through our revenue sources and through The Feather Fund NOLA, which supports the purchase and provision of Ostrich Feathers to the Big Chiefs of the New Orleans Tribes. Additionally, we support education and youth programs that promote pride of community and fight the cycles of poverty and crime in our neighborhoods.