Abstract
This article examines embodied double and triple consciousness expressed by African Americans who reflect Indigenous and transplanted African/Indian heritages while performing as Mardi Gras "Indians" in New Orleans. Moving beyond simplistic dichotomies of "Africanness" and "indigeneity," Black Indians produce sustained historical and cultural identities which reinforce Afro-indigeneity to overcome oppressive conditions while creating a foundation for resilience. Mardi Gras Indians perform ritual parades and complex acts of resistance and joy-playfully appropriating and adapting African, Indian and American cultures to interrogate hybrid identities beyond Black/White paradigms. The playful ambiguities-and mocking stereotypical images of savage Indians and Africans-continue to be displayed through music, art and pop cultural expressions well into the post-Katrina era. An examination of Black Indians through a cultural-historical analysis sets the stage for a reassessment of popular culture and the HBO TV series Treme (Simon, 2010-2013)-specifically its use of fictive, triple-conscious imaginaries which give life to vibrant, joyful expressions of resistance.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 558-573 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | AlterNative |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2016 |
Keywords
- African-diasporic
- Afro-indigenous
- Black Indians
- Carnivalesque
- Creoles
- Mardi gras Indians
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cultural Studies
- Anthropology
- History