IN LAFAYETTE — This Mardi Gras event pays respect to both African-American and Native-American influences.
The annual costume contest takes place at Miami Moon, where we meet Natalie Lindon- Williams, the Event and Operations Manager of the Lafayette nightclub, who tells KATC about this multi-cultural contest.
"The Mardi Gras Indians started out as descendants of the African slaves paying homage to those Native Americans," said Lindon-Williams, "They were either represented through their own personal heritage or those that helped when it came to our journey from slavery to the present day. So if you look at the costumes, they have bits and pieces of both types of culture."
Lindon-Williams is passionate about this long-standing tradition and hopes to see it for many years to come
"The Mardi Gras Indians are pivotal and we hope that traditions live on beyond our years,
whether Miami Moon is here, whether Simcoe Street is here, whether Lafayette is still here. We hope that this tradition still lives on."
